Happy Birthday Hilary
by Vitalini
Summary: Hilary and the most of the G revolution teams are preparing to celebrate her upcoming Birthday while Kai and the Blitzkreig Boys have their own worries.
1. Waiting

Title: Happy Birthday Hilary  
Authoress: Vitalini  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Most of the Blader's from Grev Tournament are staying at Tyson's and its going to be Hilary's Birthday soon. Her plans to make it one to remember slowly get out of hand as she and the rest of the girls want to invite the Blitzkrieg Boys and have evil plans to torture all the guys. Centered mostly on Kai.

Warning: Cross-dressing and implied yaoi in future chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters. I wish only to write for my own entertainment and any unrecognized characters belong to me. may have got ideas from other peoples OC's.

Author's note: I have tried my best to keep the characters like they are in the series though it is bound to stray particularly with the Blitzkrieg boys. The idea for this was based from Ladya. C. Maxine 'Boys Day In or Out' so characters may have similar personalities. I have also built up a whole new history spawned from Ladya. C. Maxine 'Untold Truths' universe but not quite the same. My writing may not be as effective as hers but I adored it so much and it is what inspired me to write this and join There is also strong reference to Gackt and Japanese Jrocker who has grown on me. His influence will be noticed much later in the story. I have a feeling this fiction will grow into something much bigger that what I originally intended. I'm only just starting to get the hang of this creative writing but have done my best enjoy. After all life is a learning experience so please review and pass some wisdom my way.

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"What are you going to do?" Matilda asked, Kai discretely cringed from the giggles and squeals that had erupted from the pack of girls huddled in the corner of the room.

Trapped in this claustrophobic waiting room, he tried to block out the high pitched voices.

Everything had been fine before Hilary had suddenly announced it was her Birthday in a couple of day … weeks…when ever, he hadn't been paying to much attention, but it had triggered an enthusiastic reaction from the female population of the room, who were now causing the painful racket.

The waiting room was filled with many of the teams from last years tournaments including those of the justice five. Mercifully, Mingming was not around as she was promoting a new album. Fortunately her absence also meant that they weren't entertained by Hilary's flaming hatred for the blue haired singer, which was brought forth as soon as the girl opened her mouth.

Everyone else was either slouched on the furniture or idly standing around. The new waiting room was larger than the original outside of Mr Dickenson's office. After the BEGA league had literally been destroyed, it had only taken a couple of months before another BBA headquarters was being built. The small and simple structure that had been the immediate substitute quickly proved not enough for the great demand of new bladers. In comparison to the original BBA headquarters of Japan the new office was humbler but that didn't stop the chairman insisting on having a large waiting room right outside his much smaller office. If anything the room was an extension of Mr Dickenson's private study, often when such a large group assembled one merely had to lock the door to the corridor and the soundproof walls blocked any secrets from escaping. In short it enabled the Chairman to hold larger meetings than he ever could before without the worry of being overheard if the discussion was on a top secret basis.

Kai having already been in this room numerous times before, for long periods of time he wasn't fascinated by the sophisticated suite, which consisted of comfortable dark brown sofa and chairs that matched the grand mahogany table in the middle of the room, so well polished no one dared touch it. The same went for the odd side table between the chairs farther away from the main table and the cabinets that stood against the walls, all of the same wood. The floor was beige carpeted, the soft texture surprising as it appeared to be tightly knit. Nevertheless the atmosphere was one of sever comfort as the air conditioning hummed above their heads and the light breeze that spilled in with the bright sunshine cast the formal room with a soft glow.

The others however didn't share his disinterest. Having entered it far less often than him and never stayed for longer than a minute or two the room fascinated them. Despite this they still managed to keep a safe distant from the expensive furniture and decorative vases and trinkets on some tables. Three years ago the same teenagers that were now controlling Daichi and Kevin from ruining the objects in the room would have been jumping all over the furniture. It was relieving and depressing at the same time to seen them have matured so much.

"Kevin, don't you dare" Lee warned from where he sat in the luxurious sofa noticing his young team mate's fingers inch towards a small statue of an eagle on a side table.

"What?" it was the first exchange any of the boys had made since the announcement, as they'd been listening intently to the gossiping girls particularly when their own name was mentioned.

After Kevin was subdued the other monkey boy in the room was soon reprimanded by Tyson.

"You're not the boss of me!" came the indignant yell from the short redhead as he shook a small but strong fist at the older boy.

Again Kai congratulated the old mans wisdom in having soundproofing in his office and waiting room, as an inevitable argument broke out between the two hot heads. It was quickly broken up by Kenny and Max who were sitting closest.

Rei amongst his homeland friends just sighed at the scene, eyes travelling over to where he stood largely unnoticed by everyone else. Kai, eyes closed and head bowed merely sensed his old team mate's eyes upon him. Standing in his notorious posture, leaning against the smooth cream wall, arms folded across his chest, he didn't know the memories his stance stirred in the raven haired teen that observed him.

_How damn long are they going to be? _

He would have left, but he didn't want to go anywhere near the horde of girls that guarded the door. He wasn't the only one giving them a wide birth either. An invisible line was drawn around the group, if anyone crossed it there was instant silence as the girl's eyes bore into the intruder, daring them to come closer. As proven when Raul unknowingly crossed this invisible barrier, when he had wanted to ask his older sister something but never got a chance to.

Kai smirked at the thought of his childhood friend, more timid than the two toned hair circus blader when he was younger, but now would have walked straight through the huddle of girls without blinking his long lashes. Having on many occasion to Kai showed his lack of respect to peoples personal space. If the girls stared accusingly at him he would have stared straight back before coming up with some comment that would have even humbled the fiery Mariah. He was reminded of the rich laughter that would have erupted from his friends' mouth as he closed the door behind him, a sound only his team mates were gifted to hear. Kai loved seeing those intelligent eyes sparkle.

The last tournament had been a nightmare, they were still on tender ground but the constant anxiousness that he would get up and leave them again was gone. Tala was the first to accept him back but even he was suspicious of him, always demanding where he was going or had gone. Kai had found the constant glares particularly from the cunning captain irritating as they followed him to and from a room, but he didn't blame them. There had been moments of their old friendship but the awkwardness between them soon stifled the moment. After their shared time in Hospital together Kai had felt their old relationship just begin to flourish once more, even Spencer was relaxing around him though Bryan remained distant. It was with reluctance that he witnessed the Blitzkrieg Boys departure and was counting down the days before returning to Russia and to continue making amends. His relationship with Tala, one that had been frozen and locked in his heart since they last saw each other before the Russian tournament three years ago, was beginning to melt.

_Seriously, what is keeping them? _

As if they'd heard him the door to the old chairman's office clicked open. Garland, Mystel and Brooklyn strolled in to the room. Crusher was visiting family so wasn't present. Mystel had come to stick the White Tiger team like glue despite his alliance with the Justice Five team. Garland smiled at Tyson who had been the one to promise the martial arts blader everyone would wait for him. For this Kai wanted to wring the navy haired teen's neck. Brooklyn scanned the room until his eyes settled on him, standing close to the door the ginger head had come from, obviously standing too close to the person that still unnerved him greatly the normally cocky blader shifted away from him.

Kai unnerved a lot of people generally. With his dark clothes, long scarf or polor neck and blue tattoos on his face along with his strong stance seemed to intimidate people. He even wore eccentric clothes just to see what people would do, he even went as far as wearing dark purple but it didn't make a difference. Still people, though slightly fearful of the enigmatic teen, held him in awe and admiration.

He distanced himself from people and many who didn't know him were happy to keep their distance, those who had been forced into his company were unexplainable drawn to him. He didn't know that no matter what he did it was soon forgotten by even the most stubborn acquaintances. His presence was severely missed when he was absent and he was thought of often. He had no idea the impact he had on people's lives and they in turn didn't know why. He hardly spoke to the people in this room, equally gave them as much attention. Nonetheless he was very observant and nothing usually slipped past his notice, his subconscious mind absorbing everything in his surroundings only to nag him at a later date.

_Finally they've shut up maybe we can go now. _

The bladers, who had been sitting, stood and stretched their stiff joins and the girls dispersed with promises to continue the conversation once they got back to Tyson's where they were staying. _Well at least I'll been able to escape the squeals at Tyson's. _Deep down he knew that the volume of their high pitched voices would increase until it filled the whole household. Still he wouldn't be detained this time.

The summer's heat had made them drowsy and sitting about too scared to touch anything not to mention straining to hear excited whispers from their female team mates in the corner of the room, only made them even more tired. Moving away from the wall he went to follow the rest out the door but a chubby hand caught his slender wrist. Turning to the Chairman who was wearing his usual black suit with white shirt beneath his jacket, he gave the senior an questing look. The old gentleman pleased with getting the teens attention released his hold and mopped his sweating forehead.

"Mr Dickenson?" Mariah called from where she waited by the door to the corridor, the chairman gave the bright pink haired girl a surprised look but Kai had known she hadn't left yet, her feline curiosity compelling her to stay when he had stopped.

He didn't even turn around to look at her as she waited behind him door still held open. To her surprise he leaned against the head of the great table no one else dared to go near. Her soft gasp travelled over to his sensitive ears triggering the tiniest of smirks.

"It's Ok Mariah; I'll just keep him for a minute. You can go ahead unless there is something you wish to ask." Mr Dickenson answered kindly detecting her worried tone.

She nodded at the man they'd all accepted as a second grandfather or first depending on the individual. Kai felt the swift heated glare hit his back as she exited, as usual not trusting him and always disapproving of his behaviour even when she was one of the chief people who had worried over him in hospital.

_Girls are so complicated. _

Letting out a breath as the door clicked shut, he hopped fully onto the table. Legs tired from having stood for over an hour in one place he leaned back slightly putting pressure on his hands, marring the polish. _No big deal, it wasn't like he was spilling coffee over the table like that guy from yesterday's meeting. _Though he could imagine Kenny having a heart attack at his actions, he'd make a point of doing this next time they had to wait

He heard another click as the door locked. He couldn't help giving his companion a look but the old man was putting the automatic device back in its pocket. Another few drops of sweat ran down the mans brow causing the Chairman to wipe it away with the sleeve of his formal attire in a rare show of informality.

"Why don't you take that jacket off?" He suggested sweeping silvery blue bangs from his eyes.

"I was just thinking the same thing." Was his answer as indeed Mr Dickenson started to remove the heavy jacket.

To the teens amusement the senior was wearing a short sleeved shirt which was damp with sweat.

"Is that why you locked the door?" he asked slipping off the table to take the clothing to hang on the hat stand by the door; Mr Dickenson had left his hat in his office.

He turned back to see the old man unbuttoning his shirt a tired expression on his wrinkled face.

"Have they pulled out?" he asked with a caring voice that others wouldn't believe he possessed.

From his knowledge the meeting had gone well and the Dutch company was just waiting to sign the papers. He'd been there helping Mr Dickenson explain the idea and encourage the Dutch to join the BBA as well as have a part of the next tournament in the low and flat Netherlands. He'd been acting as an interpreter between the two which was lucky as Mr Dickenson hadn't known they weren't bringing one.

Mr Dickenson was stressed but had remained his pleasant self; Kai added his own persuasive statements as he translated to the visitors especially when he thought the Chairman hadn't come across strong enough or had missed something. It also worked in their favour when one of the Dutch businessmen recognised Kai as the boy who had helped him out in the Russian airport when the man had trouble with the signs. The markings on his face making him easily recognisable, the man had quickly informed his companions of this and they joked at his poor language skills.

Poor Mr Dickenson was worried they were laughing at something in the room or him meaning that the meetings had started on a bad note. Kai had reassured the Chairman though he was embarrassed about mentioning his act of civil service as he rarely openly helped anyone. The chairman was looking as worried as he had been during the meeting and Kai wondered if he'd had a phone call cancelling the deal.

"No, no they eagerly signed them as soon as they were in their hands." Mr Dickenson sighed heavily looking around distractedly.

Kai ruffled his two toned hair, feeling the back settle back down he shot the bald man a concerned questioning look. However the worried man wasn't paying him any attention as he began to move about the room.

"Thanks to you, I might add." He called over from where he was opening the filing cabinet.

"Me?"

"Yes, you have quite a way with people, Kai. They were willing to sign the papers half way through the meeting if we had them ready, or so I was informed by Izaac."

Kai snorted, Izaac was a bit too enthusiastic for his taste (_like never off the sugar enthusiastic_) and had obviously elaborated the Dutch's eagerness to sign.

Having not heard the teen's response Mr Dickenson continued after pausing to look over some files, but they weren't the ones he wanted.

"He mentioned that a certain charming and handsome" he gave Kai a fond yet cheeky smile over his shoulder at the last word,

"young man sold it for them and hoped to see him again in the future."

"That was only because I was interpreting." Kai said to the broad back once again perched on the edge of the table.

"You added a lot more than what I said, filling in some crucial gaps I might add and I thank you for that."

"How did you know I was doing that, I though you couldn't speak Dutch?"

The senior smiled to himself at the boys slightly accusing tone, but Kai could see it reflected in the glass.

"I can't, but even I know that what I said wouldn't be that long in Dutch Kai."

"Why didn't you ask Izaac to interpret when you learned they hadn't brought their own?"

"For a number of reasons my dear boy," he said flicking through a file before returning it, "One Izaac was busy with another job. Two you were in the room. Three Izaac would have acted worse than me; why else do you think his only interacting with business associates is delivering papers when no one else is available. Four he doesn't have your commanding yet charming and persuasive tone. Five you had more insight to what was going on so could fill in anything I missed, which you did very well. Six-"

"Okaay, I get the point."

"Besides," the chairman continued cheerfully undeterred by the interruption, "It's your own fault for revealing your ability to speak the language."

Clutching the file he'd been looking for he turned to see Kai huff in indignation before smirking at him.

"So what's wrong?" the teen persisted.

"Nothing for you to be concerned with." the bald man assured him, placing the file down behind Kai and pulled a comfy chair to the mahogany table.

He settled down and opened the file, shifting papers but kept them neatly in order. Kai twisted around to examine the papers he could see; Mr Dickenson made no effort to hide them. The numbers and equations made sense to him but their purpose and reason eluded him.

"So did you lock me in here just to thank me and let me watch you?" he kept his voice casual and disinterested as he moved his gaze to the window.

The old gentleman smiled getting the jib artfully placed in the simple and non-sarcastic question.

Looking up he saw the warm sun reflect in the cool gray orbs, as if mimicking the inner light that shone from them when the teen was in competition. They had once been a constant fiery red always on guard, but had cooled over the years. Sometimes being an indecisive purple shade that had stayed with the boy most of this year during the last tournament.

Kai often had his eyes closed even when walking around, a habit that had and still did annoy Tyson who would wonder how Kai could still manoeuvre perfectly around people with his eyes shut.

It had all started when they were first leaving Japan for the Asian tournament. Tyson had accidentally barrelled straight into a group of British tourist while Kai without even looking up had dodged the odd person that stormed past regardless of who was in their way and neatly walked around stationary groups. The rowdy teens had stared at their Captain in wonder as he had swiftly made his way across the sea of people, something the rest had a much less graceful time doing. Mr Dickenson chuckled to himself at the memory. It was a shame the boys no longer pulled any more antics like that but it was less stressful now they'd calmed down. The laugh had caused his silent companion to look at him with the third quizzing look that afternoon.

"Hmm?" Kai waited but the man just went back to his papers after giving him another fond smile.

Looking back once more, he stretched his back, tilting his head back until he could see the antique clock hanging on the wall.

"I've been longer than a minute." He commented, more to himself as it came apparent the gentleman wasn't listening to him.

Getting up again he slipped into the office that was similarly furnished to the waiting room but the air conditioning had yet to be connected so the air was incredibly stuffy. The man's large fan having broken when Daichi knocked it over as he had tried to strangle Tyson when the older boy had made an unappreciative comment on the redhead's blading skills. The only comfort was the water dispenser in the corner of the room. Filling the plastic cup with cold water he quickly hurried back to the waiting room, a cough from the senior making him speed up slightly though not a drop fell from the cup despite being practically filled to the brim.

Carefully placing the clear cup in front of the chairman, who acknowledged him with a grateful nod before going back to his papers once, again. Sighing to himself, he strode over to one of the leather armchairs and flopped into it. Triggering Mr Dickenson (who'd been watching and listening to him the whole time) to let out an amused huff. The soft sound got the teen's attention making his head snap back round to stare at him. The old man didn't let on.

"Well?" Kai knew the man was watching him and had been all the time, it only made the impatience in his voice harder to restrain.

The bald man just waved him over and handed him some papers. Scanning their contents he handed them back, "I thought that was sorted?" _obviously not. _

"I thought that to, but they came a week ago just two days after Mr Itou left."

"And you've left it till now to look over them?" his tone wasn't accusing merely bemused; it wasn't often the Chairman put such an important person to the bottom of his business list.

Then again he didn't usually consult a teenager about his private and business affairs either.

"Well I had my hands full with other meetings and signing papers…" his voice trailed off as he read a particular letter in front of him.

Bending over Kai read where he thought the Chairman's eyes seemed fixed, "_I expect you reply within a month once you agree with the terms above and below." _He quoted out loud after reading the said terms mentioned. _Snotty jerk, who does he think he is?_

Kai now knew why Mr Dickenson had failed to treat these papers with his usual respect. _All those terms are in his favour, he's practically blackmailing the BBA. _Kai was fortunate enough to have little dealings with the straight backed twig of a man. Twice as tall as the chairman with a nose three times the size and watery eyes the man was an eye sore but that wasn't half as bad as tone. He treated everyone as second rate, except those who were rich or had a strong influence in a powerful position. Kai was both of these though he didn't look it. He had first hand seen how slimy the man could be.

While Kai had been in the waiting room around three weeks ago, when Mr Dickenson had wanted to introduce him to an new associate to the BBA from Jamaica who as a big fan apparently, he'd first met Mr Itou. The man strode into the room, irritable about having to wait because some Jamaican was actually booked in for an appointment when he'd just strolled in expecting Mr Dickenson to make himself free for his convenience. His eyes had swept of the luxurious suite with mild appreciation but it had vanished when he spotted Kai gazing out the window. The mans rat like face curling in disgust was clearly reflected in the glass. He continued to observe Kai with distaste as he in turn ignored the stranger. That expression swiftly changed when the Jamaican, a man in his thirties with long black dreadlocks and skin to match) bounded out the office calling his name with absolutely glee. He'd had considerable trouble breaking the man's grasp on his hand, but had preferred it to the slimy one thrust into his face by the tall man who all but shoved the excited visitor out the way. Keen to make amends to the boy he'd been glaring at with distaste all that time. Kai didn't let on, knowing he was an important fundraiser and had shares in the BBA since it started but the smarmy performance had been nauseating.

_The things I do for you Mr Dickenson._

Now the jerk wanted a bigger share than he had before he willingly sold his to Boris last year, contributing to the temporary end of the BBA. Other terms that would amount to Mr Itou having more say than even Mr Dickenson and a strong influence to where money was spent. If they didn't agree a large part of the BBA funding which was currently vital, would be taken away. It looked as if the chairman was going to have to comply with this man as no other person was willing to fund as much.

Pulling out a laptop which he'd come to prefer to his computer in his office as he could sit in a air conditioned room with it Mr Dickenson handed him the plug, meaning he'd be on it for longer than two hours. Returning from the socket, Kai could already see the old gentleman continuing a letter. Standing behind him he bent down to place his folded arms on the back of the chair. Resting his chin on his arm he could see the screen clearly. The Chairman didn't mind the teen looking over his shoulder to what amounted to a private and confidential document, and like he did with the letter he adjusted the screen so the boys could have a better view. They remained in silence for the next ten minutes; the only sound was the old fingers ticking away at the keys. Kai legs began to ache but he didn't move to intent on the screen to budge.

"You don't have to agree." Kai softly suggested, not really to the man he stood over.

Rubbing his eyes, dislodging his round spectacles in the process the Chairman sighed wanting to believe the teenager behind him.

"I don't see any other way, if we don't there is no way we will be able to provide the new generation with the facilities they need

or the latest equipment before the world championships."

Kai shut his eyes as the dejected tone in the gentleman's voice reach his ears, a light seemed to dim in his eyes and he lowered his forehead to his arms, not liking where this was heading and what it would mean for the future of the BBA.

_This guy is as bad as Boris. Only he'll twist it to get as much money out of the BBA as possible before leaving it to hang dry, I know his sort if only we could get someone who really loved the sport, I know lots of people that do but would they be willing to buy shares?_

Mr Dickenson let out a resigned sigh, the boy knew very well the damage of agreeing to Mr Itou's terms could mean but he was under a lot of pressure to get the BBA back on its feet as soon as possible again. He went back to the letter but a hand squeezed his shoulder and he turned to Kai, slightly surprised by the reassuring gesture though it was much welcomed.

"Yes Kai?" the teen's eyes seemed to glow. The sight raised some hope in his dejected heart, the boy looked as if he'd just thought of something and he prayed it was a solution.

"You don't have to agree to this." His voice was stronger than before making the sentence more of a statement than a plea.

"Kai, what choice do I have? If I don't than the BBA will lose major funds which are needed to rebuilt the cooperation and most importantly the facilities and equipment for the Beybladers." Despite his words he continued to look at the silver headed youth expectantly.

"I learned with just one beyblade and a few replacement parts. It didn't have to be in hundred percent condition before I launched it **and** I didn't have my own private dish to practise with and I turned out just fine." The old man detected the teen thought the younger generation were spoilt which he had to admit was true.

"So what is you suggestion?"

"Don't agree."

"Haven't I given you enough reason to see why I have no choice but to agree?"

"No." A familiar gleam in the intelligent eyes and Kai's tone reminded the Chairman of another teenager.

"I'm under a lot of pressure Kai, if we don't get the funds than the BBA will truly go and with it the sport of Beyblading."

"Why not get other people to buy shares and contribute funds?"

"How many will be willing to pay as much as Mr Itou?"

"Mr Itou wants a large portion of the BBA's shares but their not his yet, meaning they're still up for grabs, yes?" a nod and the handsome teen continued, "also he is only funding the BBA as long as he gets his way aka his hands on the money pot. His offer to buy the amount of shares is cheap and he can risk this because there is no competition. If we pretend that there was competition and no guarantee he'd get what he wants he'll pull out so we can't bluff him into more reasonable terms. So we need to make an actual threat and hopefully he'll lose all interest and pull out completely leaving us with shares to sell to others who are more trustworthy. Also we can get other people to fund the BBA, they may not contribute as much but the combined amount could possibly be more than the funding we'd get from Mr Itou alone, You know giving one man so much influence only leads to trouble."

"Don't you think I thought of that?" the chairman smiled sadly at his companion.

_Not thoroughly obviously._

"Do you mean my words fell on deaf ears?"

"No, but if Mr Itou stopped funding us we might not get enough people to cover for his loss and even if we did there is no guarantee they will contribute as much."

"Spent less." That did make sense the old man thought.

"How would we provide everyone with the latest facilities and up to date equipment?"

"You spoil them, you know that?" was his reply confirming his thoughts that Kai did indeed believe the children of today were spoilt.

"I would have done the same for you if I had been able to." He smiled at the boy who smirked at him.

"You were more able then than you are now."

"Since BEGA, the BBA is now expected to provide things and it took us time to create are own training schools to begin with."

"Yeah, whatever." Despite his words Kai wasn't put off, he'd explained the skeleton of his idea to the chairman and his views that it didn't matter if they had less funding so long as it was money worth having from people worth having it from. Besides the children these days thought as long as they had the latest gear and went to some fancy training school it would make them better bladers, often blaming their beyblades or their teachings for there losses.

He moved to lean against the table, facing Mr Dickenson. The edge of the table dug painfully into his hip but he ignored it, cold eyes boring into older ones.

"Do you want me to tell you what you want to hear?"

The senior's head nodded, his body leaned forward expectantly as if knowing the teen would come up with the answer that would solve his problems.

"I'm willing to contact some people I know who are genuinely interested in Beyblading and may be willing to support the BBA."

"From Russia?"

"Russia, France, England, Canada, China, Scandinavia, anywhere."

"But most of those countries have got organisations of their own to support."

"The BBA is the biggest beyblading cooperation in the world the only one nearing it in influence or size is the PBA and we're not too far behind them in technology. Or we weren't before BEGA took over. Also the BBA has links to all other beyblading organisations and in the past has supported them, making each one what it is today. Finally no matter what country people are from the BBA is held with great respect, **you **are held with great respect. I don't think I will have any trouble getting funds for the BBA and as for the shares consider them sold." The teen offered him an encouraging smile.

Mr Dickenson was lost for words, the confidence and determination had moved him to actually believe it might work. He'd considered it but didn't know where to start and had to admit he only had a few unlikely candidates to turn to. Kai on the other hand could ask anyone, anywhere. He was a Hiwatari thus the world was open to him.

"But we only have three weeks," he realised that and silently cursed his delay in not attending to the matter sooner.

"Just give me the information I need and I'll sort the rest out."

Not wanting to do anything to upset this mini miracle, Mr Dickenson quickly got up and went back to the filing cabinet and withdrew three thick files. As he returned, Kai had already taken the file he'd left on the desk and was reading through the documents. The boys didn't even flinch at the amount of paperwork he received; merely balancing those on one arm while he held the other file open not stopping his study of the documents.

Walking further down the table he placed the three thick files down near the opposite end of the table, with one hand pulling the heavy furniture up next to the table as Mr Dickenson had done, eyes never leaving the file.

Two hours later, Kai had sorted through all four folders and extracted the useful information, marking their places in the files so he could return them in order. He'd ended up with a small pile of eight pages max from each file, _what a waste of paper. _

Pulling out a note pad, from one of the side table cupboards behind him, he waved to Mr Dickenson who was gratefully sipping his water.

"Can I use your phone?"

"Certainly!"

Getting up he located the phone which had been moved to another table in the room, its cord stretching behind the leather backs. Carefully carrying the phone to the table he lifted the cord up so it didn't knock the eagle statue over.

Once settled he began making phone call after phone call scribbling down notes and adding numbers to his small phone book he'd recently started carrying round with him.

Finding one phone insufficient he took another from the other side of the room thankfully it was cordless. Mr Dickenson had left the room forty minutes ago and a German business man wanted to discuss splitting a particular share with a French aristocrat that must have survived the French revolution. After assuring the German he could speak fluent French and it was just the phone making him sound younger he quickly dialled the number and began informing the French man of the request, scribbling as he went not bothering to translate resulting in many different languages being written all over the paper. He told the German what the French man had said and it continued. A slight disagreement mid way but he had intervened like the middle man he was and it was soon settled.

Now he had to begin again as a Canadian's requests clashed with a Japanese politicians.

After sorting the fourth dispute and moving onto his fifth, there was a knock on the door. He didn't answer too intent on writing down the main information that the Austrian wanted as the Aussie nattered down the receiver, once done he picked up the other phone and held it in place with his shoulder as he translated the details to the Austrian, the Australian could be heard calling to someone named Sheila. He had ignored the person as they walked into the room still occupied by the annoyed Austrian who was calling the Australian all things under the sun, he asked her whether she wanted him to try and negotiate with the Aussie something he wouldn't have done if he'd known how stubborn the man was. Finally they came to a resolution after both started shouting obscene language down the phone. He merely held the two phones together, enabling the each of them to hear the other clearly. The Australian woman could speak perfect English and once they realised who they were actually shouting at they continued the negotiations between the two of them securing the deal with a date. He asked the two for the details again so he could right them down before they hung up. Finally free he glanced up at the new comer.

_Not him! Most probably come to yell at me for skipping practise or something… I always wondered where Tyson got that gormless look from. _

"Hiro!" Mr Dickenson's voice snapped the young adult out of his trance. His attention turning towards Kai the senior asked, "How's it going?"

"Fine, just three more or so calls and then all I have to do is present you with the details."

His business tone caused Hiro to give him another backwards glance.

"How long will you be?" concern etched the chairman's words, he'd been at it since noon and it was now six.

"Another hour of so." He thought off hand, the last ones just requiring some cooperation between the people involved.

He wasn't used to being a middle man but he'd proven to be very good at it, especially now that he'd discovered a way to let the people involved talk directly to each other. Ignoring the others leaving he quickly set to work.

Two hours later he was finishing the last sentence, fingers burning, eyes and ears aching and head spinning. Eight o'clock. Stretching in his seat he cleared away everything he'd been using and returned the files back into their cabinet. Taking his pile of paper, on which were all the calculations and the final agreements. They had so many offers that people had been fighting over shares and the funds were five times that of Mr Itou. Now all that needed to be done was typing everything out, sending the appropriate papers off and telling Mr Itou where to shove his terms and agreements.

Not bothering to knock on the door, (another trait he'd picked up from his read headed friend) Kai walked into the room.

Mr Dickenson smiled, though his eyes held concern when he noticed how tired Kai looked.

"Finished?" he inquired, hoping the teen was retiring for the night. He'd given up asking him to take a break, as he'd only received stern looks for his concern.

"Yeah everything's done." Kai handed him the pile of papers.

"Everything!" he couldn't keep the disbelief out of his voice.

"Well everything I can do. There's one loose end but Ata will clear it up and fax you the information. I've done all the calculations for you, and it's been summaries in the last paragraph. The pocket contains my rough notes if you need to go over them." He kept his tone formal, looking straight into the Chairman's eyes, purposely ignoring Hiro.

"Y-y-you did _all_ this in eight hours." Mr Dickenson stuttered clutching the thick pile.

"I caused quite a disruption, but they all seemed happy to give up a minute or two of there time. Something I know all about. Ata might take a few days contacting Mr Kasparkov and sorting things out. If you could send him the summary as soon as possible that would make things a lot easier. Expect a reply in three days. All the shares have been sorted but Mr Kasparkov is willing to give the BBA a huge funding if they can make Beyblading more available outside Moscow."

Mr Dickenson nodded taking all the information in.

"Why doesn't this Mr Kasparkov set up his own Beyblading facilities in Russia if he has so much money and _who's this Ata?" _Hiro, fed up with being ignore cut in.

"Lets leave it at Boris still has a lot of say when it come to Beybalding in Russia and he and Mr Kasparkov aren't on speaking terms. The only way he can get what he wants and make sure he can trust who he's paying is through the BBA." Again, Kai directed his explanation to the Chairman as he had also bunched his brows when Mr Kasparkov was mentioned.

"…And Ata?" Hiro pressed.

He received no answer as Kai after giving Mr Dickenson a quick nod had already left the room.

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	2. unevenful evening

Title: Happy Birthday Hilary

Authoress: Vitalini

Rating: K+

Summary: see chapter one

Warnings: see chapter one

Disclaimer: I don't own beyblade or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be touched. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole intention to entertain.

A/N sorry about the very, very long delay. I have tests to revise for though I've got all the story written out its just getting the time to get it on the computer. Not much happens in this chapter but it prepares you for the next so enjoy. The grammar mayn't be as good as it hasn't been checked.

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"Michael, that is the most stupid idea so far!"

Kai sighed softly. The discussions for Hilary's party had indeed continued once they got back, and had apparently continued since. The major difference being the boys had finally been allowed to join in. From Emily's loud scolding, it was evident; however, their ideas weren't much appreciated. This notion was clarified by Michael's indignant response to his team mate's rebuke. Many insults and curses were soon exchanged.

All their talking had gotten them nowhere. He was grateful that his own negotiating had run smoothly. It wasn't often you could settle something as complex as business shares and crucial funds in a day. But if you knew the right people and had a surname like Hiwatari, it wasn't impossible to pull off.

No doubt there would be phone calls to certify the agreements and perhaps meetings after they had received the papers. Mr Dickenson wouldn't mind, it was part of the job description. He just hoped Mr Dickenson could handle it and not have to call on him, again.

He wasn't holding his breath. The American for instance, who had bought shares was quite intimidating in appearance; but Kai wouldn't have considered him if he couldn't be trusted. Mr Dickenson would soon find that out for himself. It was Mr Itou that could be the major problem, and if all goes well with Mr Kasparkov, they'd be hearing from Boris as well.

As mentioned, the teens weren't having the same luck. This was mainly due to the girls, being too eager to shoot down any suggestions from the opposite gender. Fair enough, some suggestions deserved the response they received, but not all of them. This only triggered the boys to retaliate in a similar manner. Occasionally some ideas were considered, but ultimately they were rejected for some reason or another.

This time, however, Hilary was taken with the American's suggestion. From the scattered murmurings, others shared her curiosity. Mariah's and Julia's parental warnings only made the exciting proposal more enticing.

Kai rolled his eyes. The ominous clouds crept closer to the silver moon, the temperature was steadily dropping, confirming his suspicions that it was going to rain. Still, he preferred standing outside, with the gentle breeze tugging at his long scarf, than amongst the rest of them and joining in with the discussions.

He was curious to how it would turn out, not that he'd admit it, but he'd situated himself so he couldn't help but overhear. Not that it was necessary, as the whole neighbourhood could most probably hear them.

Sensing eyes glaring at him, he glanced over his shoulder. He wasn't surprised to find Hiro scowling at him.

Hiro continued to glare at him. There was so much he just wanted to scream at the silent teen, He just didn't know where to start. The calm grey orbs studied him, waiting for him to start. This only infuriated him more. He'd thought he'd figured Kai out; he'd tried to figure to him out. But the enigmatic youth was always a few steps ahead of him, leading him on, than pulling off something unexpected to throw him off.

Hiro studied and analysed the people around him. He could guess their motives and reasons for doing things and was often correct, making him a great judge of character. But there was always a feeling of doubt that hung around Kai; he could never be a hundred percent certain with him.

Exhaling loudly, Hiro gave up; realising there was no point yelling at him anyway. He felt his anger dim. Having no desire to confront Kai anymore he returned inside.

There was an amused glint in Kai's eyes as he watched the man leave before returning his gaze back to the sky.

"Fine, but only _if _the adults agree" Julia relented.

"Don't worry we'll talk them round" Michael promised, stirring a mixed reaction from those assembled.

Some squirmed with excitement, while others exchanged anxious looks. Still not sure about the idea and half hoping the adults would come up with a solution. At least it seemed the talks had finally ended. Everyone felt exhausted. Luckily most were already changed into their pyjamas, and just had to set up their beds before hitting the hay.

When it sounded as if everyone was settled he decided it was time to go in. the heavens already releasing their wet burden.

"Just going to be a minute!" the accusing tone cut the air as soon as he entered.

All the girls had already retired to the living room, which was to be their sleeping quarters during their stay, except one. The pink mane of hair stuck out like a sore thumb amongst all the guys. Mariah seated in the far corner with her team mates spun round to face him. Her anger making those feline features more pronounced, her pupils were practically slits.

Sliding the door closed behind him, he pretended he hadn't heard. Outside the thunderous downpour was accompanied by flashes of lighting and rumbling thunder. Placing his boots against the wall, he then began preparing his own bed for the night. The room was strangely quiet.

"Are you going to answer me? – Kai!"

He waited a few moments before replying, "Hn?" His feigned innocence only made the hateful glare in his direction intensify.

"Where've you been for the last eight hours, **_Kai_**?" Mariah stressed his name at the end, pouring all her annoyance into the word.

"Stay out of my business, **_Mariah_**." He imitated her tone perfectly, earning a hiss from the girl.

"What was so important that you had to miss training? You could have the decently to at least join in the first half, even Hilary does that." It was a weak argument but she didn't care. Any reason to vent her frustration with him was welcome, especially when he hadn't done anything, except be his usual self.

Kai picked up his wash bag and headed for the bathroom, passing everyone as he exited the room.

"Hey! Where do you think-"

"Mariah, leave him alone." Rei yawned, rubbing his eyes where he lay in bed. As a musing as the argument was it was getting late, and they were all tired.

"But-" she protested, only to be silenced by a look from her older brother.

After that, Kai was able to make it to the bathroom with out incident, though he was wondering why Lee didn't keep his sister on a leash.

The door closed with a soft click. He was starting to wonder why Tyson, surrounded by all his friends, was so determined that _he_ stayed as well. He was just felt like another body in the crowded house. Personal space had definitely become a luxury. He was thinking more and more of the spacious mansion, he and his Grandfather had lived in while they stayed in Japan. Currently it was empty; it had been for the last three years. He was aware that his Grandfather, though still in prison, managed to employ maids to clean it up once a week. He was aware that his Grandfather expected him to be staying there while in Japan. He'd never entertained the idea before, between the many boarding schools he'd been attending, the world championships and lodging at Tyson's, he'd been given not reason to do so; until now.

Tyson's bathroom was nice and all, simple wooden floor, walls and cupboard. There was a single white sink, next to the toilet, close to the door and further down was the reasonable large bath tub. Still it was nothing compared to the one in the mansion.

Huge marble floor, marble tiled walls and a giant Jacuzzi in the centre of a circular alcove, which was past the sinks and the toilet. The Jacuzzi was situated in a dip in the floor, and was surrounded by ornamental showers. _Why?_ He had no idea; it just went with the overall design, _apparently_.

Upon entry you were greeted with a traditional layout of a sink and cupboard on one side with a giant mirror above which reflected the towel racks and toilet on the opposite side of the room. Walking through the section and turning slightly to the right was an arch way leading to a large circular alcove. At the centre of this space, situated in a slight dip in the floor, were a giant Jacuzzi/ bath. In keeping with the surreal symmetry of the room, ornamental showers, mirrors and prints (coincidental the art work of Esther) decorated the walls. The tall mirrors made the huge room look unnecessarily bigger.

Whereas Tyson's bathroom was mainly wood, the one at the mansion was black and white marble, with a design and class that put the worlds best five star hotels to shame.

Erasing the image of the grand bathroom, he rinsed the bath before turning on the cold tap. He turned make to the sink, where he proceeded to brush his teeth vigorously, as the bath filled with cold water. Spitting out the minty foam, he then rinsed his mouth out with water.

Luckily Tyson's bath was quite big (not as big as the previously thought of Jacuzzi, but then again, not many were.) However by the time he'd turned the tap off the bath was already 90 full.

Testing the water with his finger tips to make sure it was as close to artic as possible; he let a small smile grace his lips. He didn't like hot baths, though the Butler Filip, who often insisted on filling his baths for him back in Russia, preferred the opposite.

Filip wasn't actually the Butler but when Kai didn't need to be driven anywhere he helped Moriz (the actually Butler) with the house work, making him a second Butler/ chauffer. He found himself missing them despite the differences in washing preferences. He missed Russia in general, actually.

Another odd habit was he rarely added perfumes. He quickly undressed, though he still hated being naked in someone else's house. He had the door firmly locked so there was no worry of anyone walking in.

Biting his lower lip he stepped into the freezing bath, suppressing the urge to shiver he sank completely under the water. Enjoying the revitalizing sensation, as the chill ran through his entire body.

Eventually his lungs cried for oxygen and reluctantly he resurfaced. Once his burning lungs were soothed, he stretched his stiff back and resettled himself. His head resting on the side of the bath, the rest of him remained submerged.

Craning his neck back and sweeping wet bangs from his eyes, Kai gazed up at the ceiling. _It looks better from underwater._

It was just another habit of his. He liked to have his eyes open as he lay underwater, watching a normally solid world, dance and shimmer with the clear water. Hence no bubble bath.

Imagine trying to keep your eyes open in bubble bath polluted water. They'd be attacked by the soapy solution, rendering your sight useless, until you managed to find the tap to rinse your eyes out, though you then risk scalding the already abused orbs. He shook his head, _I **desperately** need some sleep. _

He was glad he was alone. However, the thought felt like a sudden stab to his heart. Some how, it reminded him of Ata's self given 'privilege' of waltzing in wherever and whenever he wanted. He half expected the red head to wander in now.

Dispelling the thought, Kai sat up. Pulling his legs towards them, he hugged them to his chest allowing the confident persona to slip away as he allowed a few minutes of pure contemplative thought.

By the time he finished washing, the water had warmed up. He quickly got out, unplugged the bath and got changed.

Opening the door he was greeted with the raised voices of Mariah and oddly Hilary. Mariah was calling a certain someone all the unpleasant names she could think of while Hilary strongly defended the subject. He had half a mind to interrupt the heated argument, but decided to let the other girls handle it. Finally the eight hours work was catching up to him therefore he was in no mental state to confront a pair of angry females.

Unsurprisingly the voices didn't get any quieter as he shut the training room door. Despite the racket not one of the boys seemed to notice. In fact they were all fast asleep!

Well at least he had another _uneventful_ day to look forward.

Eventually the muffled yells quieted allowing him to slip into unconsciousness.

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Man this **is** short!


	3. Dare

Title: Happy Birthday Hilary

Authoress: Vitalini

Rating: K+

Summary: see chapter one

Warnings: see chapter one

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be touched. I am not making any money from this and I write with the sole intention to entertain.

A/N: Now this has been a very long delay, with a reasonably good reason, namely writers bloke and not knowing how to approach the next bit and hoping it would be as good as the first chapter seemed to be- I'm still trying to figure out how I managed to write it! I've been correctly told off for the long delay, but it is not to a good standard that I may put it up for your enjoyment.

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It was a very uneventful day.

Namely because the downpour from the previous night hadn't let up (so Tyson's decorative pond was most probably overflowing), and they were stuck inside. Due to some past event concerning the navy-haired Beyblader and his blade in this very training room they were all currently sitting in (as it was the only room that they could all _comfortably_ fit in and Hiro was entertaining old friends in the 'living room'), they couldn't train. Thus, everyone was pretty much bored.

Well, everyone except himself, unlike his 'companions' who had quickly tired of whatever form of entertainment they'd come up with, though they'd thought up every possible game they could. However, that had lead to the inevitable exhaustion of ideas. Kai, on the other hand, had been quite content - for the past 10 hours and 24 minutes to be exact - to quietly work on his slim silver laptop, which was currently resting on the wooden floor in front of him. After going through a range of sitting positions during the course of the day, the slate-haired youth was currently stretched out on his side, one knee up. His head was resting in his hand, propped up at the elbow, while he tapped constantly away at the keyboard. Typically, he was kind of in the corner; since he was stretched out, it was difficult to be completely in the corner. The sun in its present position didn't manage to get the wood beneath the open windows in the dojo to cast a far enough shadow to cover all his legs and the scattered paper and utensils surrounding him. The rest of him was bathed in the dingy grey light that was caused by the feeble sunrays filtering through sliming clouds.

In the event that they had nothing better to do, one of the other occupants would 'casually' stroll over, obviously trying to see what he was so caught up in. What they received as a reward for their nosiness was a view of a load of complicated graphs and quite a few surprisingly accurate, detailed and exceptional sketches that turned out to be elaborated diagrams of Beyblade designs, complete with numerical data and stats. Kai had been working on upgrades for his Beyblade, having designed his own software on his laptop that equaled if not surpassed that of the PBA computers, but in a smaller form that would only deal with one Beyblade at a time. After observing how useful Kenny's laptop was, he decided he'd prefer to have his own in order to do his own upgrades to his own standards. However, unlike the established nerds, he had begun his designs on paper and worked them into his computer, and drawn up plans to start making his first completely handmade Beyblade from scratch literally by himself. Again, the hard metal Beyblades used during the BEGA tournament had been his inspiration, and the new Beyblade Kenny had made for him didn't feel quite right so he'd decided on making his own. The reason was difficult to define but when he had a feeling he went with it, thus the scattered papers, complicated diagrams, and colorful charts were the result. Apart from that, he was generally just doing homework and whatever else he felt like doing.

Yesterday's meeting was naturally prominent in his mind, and he kept wondering how everything was going in Russia. Mr. Dickenson had e-mailed him informing him that everything had been sent. Actually he'd been reading the e-mail just as Kenny - the inspirational though irritating geek - had decided to wander over for a peek at his work, like it was someart exhibition. Unlike the previous curious 'visitors', Kenny could actually understand what most things meant. Kai had practically seen the boy bubble up from the inside with excitement. The Chief had been itching to get a better look, but for some reason Kai had suddenly felt protective of his work, despite having it strewn casually (if not slightly uncaringly) about him. In short, he glared at the harmless brown-haired visitor until he left rather quickly, but then Kai had that effect on people.

Once he'd finished what he'd been doing, he stretched slightly and began collecting all his things, ordering them and filing them away in the larger carrier he'd brought. After completing that minor task and with nothing better to occupy his time with, he proceeded to browse the Internet for some music, and then browse generally with music playing in his ears. It was hard to tell, but dusk was fast approaching.

Unbeknownst to him, Hilary - having decided to take it upon herself to find something everyone could do together - happened to be returning to the dojo. In her hand was an empty soda bottle. The girls, of course, knew what she was planning on doing and huddled round. Some of the boys out of curiosity approached cautiously; when they weren't reprimanded they joined the group, calling everyone else over to. No one bothered to get the silent teen who was now sitting cross-legged in the corner, balancing his laptop on his lap.

"Okay everyone!" Hilary said, once she had the group sitting in a decent enough shape that sort of resembled a circle. "Everyone in the room is playing, okay? Any objections?"

She looked around; the girls were all very keen as usual - especially Mariah and Julia. The boys were less sure, due to the fact they didn't know what they were playing yet and as the only game that came to mind was Spin The Bottle, and most of who was present were boys, it wasn't looking too good. However, surprisingly none objected, but that may have been down to Hilary's intimidating stance, glaring at certain individuals, daring them to oppose her ruling. It was scary.

"Good!" Immediately the brunettes face brightened and she was away. "It's kind of like Spin The Bottle, but instead of kissing, it works like this. If the mouth-part is pointing to you, then you**_ have_** to do a dare that the person with the bottom end of the bottle facing them comes up with. No backing out because you're just going to have to do the forfeits, and trust me, they'll be worse."

It actually wasn't as bad as everyone thought it was going to be. The racket they made as they hollered and laughed intensified, as the dares got more stupid and well, daring. Rick wanted Raul to sing 'I'm a little teapot' with all the actions, but that was just the beginning. Kai glanced up to see Tyson attempting to do a handstand (and failing fantastically), Julia spinning on the spot until she fell over (he heard the thud), and Aaron hopping around like a frog (which started off a whole load of animal imitations). He also noticed that Rei had backcombed **_all _**of his hair so it was now a ridiculous bushy tangle on his head, and Eddy was wearing a dress (which was way too small for him). It seemed to go on for ages. To Kai, it seemed that with each minute that passed, they were getting louder and louder and louder -

Suddenly, it was quiet, as if someone had pushed the mute button. It took him a moment to realize the noise had completely gone, and when he did, he automatically looked in the direction of the door, but no one was there. _Strange… why is it so quiet? Unless I've gone miraculously deaf, but… _

He shifted his gaze to the main group, which had previously been the source of all racket, and they in turn were looking at him.

_Okay, what is going on?_

He closed his laptop and moved it out of the way, raising his head, making the bemused expression very clear now that his hair wasn't hiding his eyes. That's when he noticed it; the mouth of the bottle was facing him. This obviously held some great significance, and he was mentally scolding himself for blocking the world out with music.

"Hn?"

Hilary stood, but grinning sheepishly, the bottom end of the clear bottle was facing her. _Did that mean anything? _

"Erm…" She was nervously wringing her hands together. He waited calmly, despite the unnerving feeling growing inside of him. _Wait, this wasn't Spin The Bottle, was it!?_ He had seen some of them play it before, and had long ago decided he'd rather jump off a cliff then participate in such a game. Okay, maybe that was going a bit extreme…

"Kai, I-I …"

_Please, no… can I make it to the door? Damn, they're in the way. It may not be 'Spin The Bottle'; it can't be. You don't imitate caterpillars while kissing someone, so it must be a…a dare game. Okay, so it looks like she's giving me a dare, I can deal with that. Okay, maybe not if I have to wear a dress, but surely…._

"I dare you to-to gettheBlitzkriegboystocomeoverformybirthdayparty."

"Pardon?" He felt a silvery eyebrow rise, as he looked at her blushing face.

Emily kindly elaborated. "She wants you to get the Blitzkrieg Boys to come over so they can come to her party." They had already planned this whole thing last night, so all the girls at least knew what Hilary was asking.

"Oh." He thought for a moment. "What?"

Was he being stupid, or was Mariah just being dramatic when she let out that very audible exasperated sigh? He didn't see why Hilary wanted him to do that, and more to the point, he didn't know if he could. It'd be great if he could see them again sooner than planned, but if they didn't want to travel all the way to Tokyo for some girl that they didn't even know's birthday party then what was he going to do? More to the point, what kind of a dare was that?

"Well, if you don't do it Kai, we'll just have to come up with a forfeit and, as you heard, it wouldn't be pretty," Mariah informed him, glee lacing her words. "Or weren't you listening?"

"No, I wasn't." His short reply triggered a lot of sniggering. Forcibly, he prevented himself from rolling his grey eyes, knowing that wouldn't go down well.

"It's your own fault then." _Thank you so much Garland, I think I know that. _

"Naturally," the slate-haired teen drawled, "But why do you want the Blitzkrieg Boys to come?"

Hilary was looking very flushed, but then he'd never looked at her this intently before as he tried to drill the reason out of her. "Erm… well they're friends, aren't they? Besides, you're the only one who knows how to contact them."

He didn't have a reply to that. He paused; though seemingly still staring at Hilary, his eyes were unseeing as he became lost in thought. It was a rather short thought process due to it being rudely interrupted by Matilda squeaking. He shifted his gaze to see a small huddle (mainly the girls) sneaking glances over at him and muttering, no doubt constructing the horrific forfeit to threaten him with. Sitting apart from the little group of plotters, Rick, Michael, Max and Rei in particular appeared to be giving him sympathetic glances, and even Kenny and Brooklyn seemed worried for him. Well, he certainly wasn't going to be threatened into doing something. Slowly he stood up, and pins and needles shot up his legs as circulation was restored. Thankfully, he didn't trip over as he moved toward the hallway.

"Oh, you're going to do it?" Tyson sounded very surprised.

"Did I say I wasn't?" Then he added as an after thought, "Can I use your phone?"

"Sure." The world champion couldn't help but wonder why Kai wasn't going to use his laptop or that high-tech mobile of his to contact Tala, unless he didn't have a computer or a mobile.

As if he was some fascinating wild animal at the safari, the entire troupe crept after him but maintained a reasonable distance. They stopped at the doorway once he was in the corridor; some scampered across to the opposite room.

_Very inconspicuous! Of course I can't see you behind that cupboard, Kevin. Sheesh, how old are they, six!? _

He stopped by the phone hanging on the wall. Tyson's grandpa had it installed when Tyson kept hogging the original phone, since he insisted on contacting everyone from the world championships. He unhooked it and began dialing the number. Tala should be home, or at least he would be if he worked out the time difference correctly. He had his back to his audience, stopping them from getting the number. Once it started ringing, Kai leaned back on the wall, twirling the black cord between his fingers.

"**Zdravstvuite,**" Was the thick and formal answer. Kai smirked, amused by his 'friend's' accent. After only one language being in common use for however long it was, the sudden change was more then refreshing.

"**Zdravstvuite, Tala,**" decidedly speaking in Russian, he mimicked the redhead's accent perfectly, making it impossible for anyone to understand a word he was saying. He heard some of his spectators gasp; obviously, they hadn't heard him speak Russian before.

_**(A/N: every thing written in bold is them speaking in Russian )**_

"**If you're calling about those papers, then yes, I did get them _and_ I've more or less just finished talking to Mr. Kasparkov, actually," **Came Tala's tiredresponse to his greeting. Maybe he thought Kai was checking up on him since there was a faintly irritated ring to the redheaded Russian's voice, or maybe he'd just interrupted something.

"**Well that wasn't what I was – You've already gone to see him!?" **Kai was surprised; he was not used to things going so efficiently.

"**No, more like he came to see me, as someone happened to give him my addresses," **Tala teasingly accused**. "So it's all sorted, and none of your business anymore. So what were you saying?"**

Kai opened his mouth but then shut it, wondering how best to approach the request. He heard some impatient mumblings to his left but tried to block it out.

"**Err, Kai, you still there?" **

"**Yes."**

"**Is something up?" **Thevoice on the other end actually sounded concerned… or was that just him imagining things?

"**You could say that…" **_Here goes nothing, _**"Hilary wants me to invite you over here as it's her birthday party in a couple of days, and since she thinks we're all the best of friends, she wants all of the Blitzkrieg Boys to come." ** He knew he was holding his breath now. What would they do to him if Tala said no?

"**Oh," **It was the Russian's turn to pause. "**I don't think- "**

"**You have to!" **Kai suddenly found himself sayingmiraculously keeping the panic from showing on his face.

"**I _have_ to?"**

"**No, but if you don't, _I_ don't want to know what they're going to do to me because I'm sort of out numbered here, and you know that rule about not hitting girls. I don't want to break it over a stupid forfeit."**

"**Whoa! This is a dare! I didn't think you would be stupid enough to play those games, not after what happened last time _we_ played it." **_Ah, now that brought back memories. _

"**Hmm Bryan was ruthless – no, I didn't realize I was playing since I had my headphones on and I couldn't be bothered arguing so… listen, I have a feeling Mariah wants to get me in a dress and wear makeup. They've already got Eddy in a frock-. " ** Thank goodness only Tala could hear his desperate plea right now. Well, at least he was the only one who was aware of him begging, but he had to admit he was in a corner here and definitely not by choice. Tala, unfortunately, was the only one who could get him out of his predicament and no doubt the redhead was storing this event away for future blackmailing purposes.

"**Ha, I wish I was there to see that!"**

"**Trust me, you don't." **

"**Okay, so if I don't come over, they're going to forcibly dress you up like a girl or do some other horrific thing to you?"**

"**Yes."**

"**And that's bad how?"**

"**_Tala!" _**Then again, he had been a complete jerk in the past. So why should he expect Tala, the very person who'd really felt the brunt of every bad decision Kai had made, to come all the way over to Japan just because _he'd_ asked him to? "F**orget it…. I'll send photographs so you don't miss out since I know just how much you'd hate that, or put I'll the webcam on if you want." **

"**Hold up, did I say I wasn't going to?" **Kaieyes widened. **"I'm willing to come over, though now I think about it I should have let you get the forfeit and turned up anyway. Darn, talk about too late. Oh well, I'll tell Bryan, Spencer and Ian to pack but you're paying for the flight." ** Tala finished.

"**I would have had to anyway since its short notice." **Kai stopped fiddling with the phone cord. "**Err, thanks Tala."**

"**I want to know why we weren't invited in the first place!" **The redhead sounded outraged, but Kai knew he was only messing around. He could not help but admit that, since their stint in the hospital, they'd definitely gotten more relaxed around each other. He'd never have dreamed of begging Tala for anything a few months ago. Well, he was not complaining about the change, and least he now had the redhead as a trusted business partner, which eased his ever-demanding workload a bit, and it allowed him to make ground on re-befriending Tala. He was getting the impression that he was finally making progress. Who'd have thought making amends with the Russian team would end up being so important to him? Well, that was what happened when you spent so much time around people like Tyson, Max and Rei. They could not bear to lose any friend, even a complete jerk like himself.

"**Because you only gave me your phone number and Tyson never asked for it." **He ran a hand through his hair, now illuminated by the artificial lights in the hallway; it shone a silvery-blue again. "**Are you sure Bryan will want to come?"**

"**Do I care?"**

"**But- what has he done?" **he sighed. Why did he know them so well? Scratch that; make it 'too well'.

"**Nothing much- "**

"**As usual."**

"**-just locked Ian in the basement again. Is it crowded at Tyson's? I'm presuming that's where you're staying." **Tala finished casually, though Kai had a feeling there was more to be said on the matter. He didn't press the issue.

"**Yes, very crowded, actually. How did you know?"**

"**I can hear them; not very good spies are they?" **

"**I don't know what they're trying to be. So, you and Bryan aren't on the best of terms currently?" **Kai was getting good at conversation too.

"**You could say that. And he behaved so well at the last world championships as well," **Kai suppressed the urge to laugh; it sounded like Tala was talking about a misbehaving pet.

"**Very funny, Tala. Seriously, will he - and everyone else for that matter - want to be here where _I_ am?"**

"**Didn't know you cared." **Tala paused for a moment.** "You're a complete idiot, you know that?"**

"**Thank you, but I think I could have told you that." **

"**I'll look forward to seeing you. Meet you at the airport at 10:30 tomorrow morning. No promises though; you know what airports are like." **The redhead moved swiftly on, business-like.

"**What?" **Kai straightened from his slouch against the wall.

"**I just booked our tickets while we've been talking. You know, you really need to keep you bank details in a more secure place." **_Why that…. _

"**They _were_ in a very secure place, or as secure as you can get while traveling. I obviously need to think of something more Tala-proof."**

"**Nothing will ever be Tala-proof." **

"**Don't I know it… fine, I'll pick you up, and don't bother trying to use my PIN to buy anything else!"**

"**Don't worry, I haven't and I wouldn't – you knew anyway." **

"**I had a feeling but I didn't want to accuse." **_Not when everyone is breathing down my neck, expecting me to jump ship at any moment._

"**Really!? Will I ever understand you? " **The Russian's tone came out mocking.

"**Shall we leave the deep discussions until later?" **Kai would have liked to know what brought up that last comment, but realized he'd stayed on the phone too long. **"Okay, see you tomorrow then."**

"**Poka." **Kai could just see the smile that was most probably on his old teammate's face, and then the redhead spoke again.** "You know, if we keep this up, we might actually become normal."**

Then Tala hung up, leaving the gray-eyed teen relieved as he wasn't going to have to do the forfeit, but also very confused.

"Did you get them?" N_o, I've been talking to myself for the last ten minutes._

"Yes." He answered walking past Mystel, who had immediately popped up from where he'd been sitting, eavesdropping with everyone else. Now that he'd moved, there was enough space for Kai to get back into the dojo. Everyone continued to watch him.

"Well, what did he say?" Michael finally asked the question they were all dying to know, adjusting the cap on his head as he strolled to where he had been sitting before.

Placing his laptop back on position and waited for it to finish loading, Kai answered curtly, "They're coming."

His words were like a trigger; the racket of before returned in all its glory. Most were shocked by the news, but soon got over that and were making plans on what they could do to welcome the Russian team. Kai shook his head, suddenly feeling tired. He had to plan how he was going to pick them up from the airport; in the back of his mind he knew what he was going to do, but he felt reluctant to do it.

"Hey, who wants to carry on playing?" Max yelled over the crowd. In reply, the horde of teenagers cheered and quickly returned to their circle-like shape on the floor, more or less sitting where they had before. "Kai, you playing?"

"No, I'm not playing." He quickly replied, and put his headphones back on.

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Okay, how was that, I do not know if I should have the cheek to ask for a review. P

Well, I hope they were all in character I'm worried about that because if your writing about them then you know they should try and at least be similar. However there will be a slight changes to the Blitzkrieg Boys, I think since they are going to talk more and Kai and them are going to be on better terms, well there are going to be when they sort out a few issues


	4. Arrival

Title: Happy Birthday Hilary

Authoress: Vitalini

Rating: K+ (possibly higher now)

Summary: see chapter one

Warnings: see chapter one

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be touched. I am not making any money from this and I write with the sole intention to entertain.

A/N: I wrote this awhile back and have tried to keep it as good as the other chapters but it was hard since I'm not sure how to write the Blitzkrieg Boys characters and make it believable. Though if I have something wrong please feel free to point it out. I thing it's quite longer, longer than the last on anyway and I hope the typos have all been addressed as for bad grammar well there may be many examples that I don't notice so believe them correct, a flaw in my writing I'm afraid but the more I read and write the better my grammar is and I hope its reflected in this. Anyway on with the show fingers crossed...

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He strode up the hill, passing houses that slowly increased in grandeur the further from the suburbs and closer to the rural area he got. He'd woken an hour before his usual time for the occasion. Thankfully, he was well practised in sneaking around since he had been doing it ever since he was a little and it helped to avoid crowds otherwise he would have had to face tonnes of questions from grouchy teenagers not used to waking before sun rise.

However he was out of practise, and wasn't ashamed to admit it. After all, there was no need for him to sneak from place to place quite as often for the past few months. Anyway, it had been more difficult manoeuvring round the bodies that littered the dojo floor, especially as he half expected one or two to violently kick out at any moment or flail about in their sleep, as he had known them to do. Why they had to sleep so close together to form a sea of tangling limbs, blocking his path to the bathroom was beyond him.

After he'd gotten over that obstacle thankfully with only one incident, (Tyson had grabbed his leg and clutched it as a baby would a teddy bear. It had taken him ages to prise his foot free.) Anyway, he managed to wash and change swiftly. He decided he'd get some breakfast once he'd picked the boy's up, and if he didn't it wouldn't be a great loss.

He was not looking forward to what he had to do but he did not have much choice, the airport was unfortunately a greater distance away then one could comfortably walk in a day, let alone a morning since it was more than a few miles or kilometres (whatever people preferred to call it) away from Tyson's house. The Blitzkrieg boys wouldn't be happy waiting all day _or week_ for him to pick them up only to have to walk all the way back with their luggage. That plan would go down a storm, wouldn't it?

So instead, he had brought with him some money and his only copy of the keys to his Grandfather's mansion, which was situated beyond the many hills he was currently climbing. He mumbled to no one in particular about how he hated his cursed relative's love of isolation. Not that he didn't like his personal space, but did it have to be so damn far from _everywhere_ and up a giant hill, for goodness sake. Oh and lets not forget how far the house was from the front gate. The grounds were like a national park only they seemed vaster. His Grandfather was a big man and he had a life and lifestyle to match. Absolutely no consideration as to what might happen if someone, without a method of transportation tried to get to it. If you asked a taxi to take you there chances were they would have no idea what you were talking about, you'd have to direct them and then they'd get annoyed with you before freaking out when they finally arrive at the place and see how massive it is, he knew this from experience as one may have gathered. But, his Grandfather had impressed quite a few powerful figures with this particular home that may have been the old tycoon's plan so who was he to complaining.

Kai hated the place. He imagined he would hate it even more now it was empty. It would look even more cold and haunted. He thought of the large white sheets covering everything, like hundreds of ghosts hiding the medieval and great treasures that his Grandfather had once prized. Then he thought of imposing fireplace, once fiery and blazing, giant flames spitting, rising and licking the grant interior and illuminating his Grandfather's private study in all its glory. It would be cold and still now, disused and forgotten, like everything else.

He had no intention of going into the house, though that was too simple a term to call the place. He only planned to infiltrate the basement, commandeer the largest vehicle and be on his way.

It wasn't until the sun was peeking over the mountains, so close and giant now they were no longer distant, that he reached the place. Out of breathe as he had run most of the way there, worried about the time. He gazed up at the huge, iron, unwelcoming gates and felt a chill pass through him. Heaving a sigh, he squeezed through the bars, not bothering to find the key to open the gates manually. Once inside he raced across the grounds, puffing madly but determined no to look at the building rising into view. He turned a corner on the path knowing it led to the outside entrance into the garage section of the basement.

Soon he was running down the slope, in front of him, gates smaller, but identical in design to the front gates, blocked the entrance. He squeezed through these as well. Taking out his flashlight, he roamed up and down the parked cars. The still smelt of petrol and rubber even after three years of solid neglect but there was also a faint telltale musty smell found in old attics, which was a little strange. Eventually the black metal gleamed under the glow of his feeble torch as he approached the large four by four. The silver wheels glittered and he stroked the tinted windows, gentle rubbing away the gathered dust. This would do nicely.

He noted the number printed at the front of its parking space and rushed back to grab the keys kept by the door that lead into the main house. Opening the small cupboard, blowing away the dust and dead bugs he searched for the set he needed. Once found he grabbed them and ran back.

He gave the car a quick look over and decided it wasn't too dusty. Unlocking the door, he slipped inside and sank into the leather seat. Turning the engine on, he considered his options, manual or automatic. He needed to be quick so it might as well be automatic and on cruise control while he was at it, the distance wasn't too far and he had done it loads of times.

Coming to the exit, he simply pressed a button next the radio and the gates opened. He didn't even have to slow down as he sailed passed. He did the same with the front gates. Everything had gone as smoothly as planned, perfect.

He pulled onto the main road and headed for the motor way, making the most of the empty roads, though he had no trouble swerving to overtake. He zoomed by, dust blowing off the massive jeep that would easily accommodate everyone and their bags, without being a people carrier. He'd cleaned the windows as soon as he had turned the engine on. Obviously since, he would not have been able to see otherwise, but they just weren't clean enough. _What type of dust was this?_

Once on the motorway the traffic increased dramatically, he zipped in and out of them, increasing the speed to seventy instantly. For a moment, he was unsteady, adjusting to the new speed but he was soon stirring one hand again. The cruise control made manoeuvring easier and since he did it at every opportunity, as the sleepier drivers were taking it slower he never got bored.

He felt so free and exhilarated as he leaned back. He was thankful that Tyson and everyone else could not see him now. He was used to rules being bent for him. He'd been able to drive since he was twelve though where he was allowed to go was extremely limited but he had a drivers licences and everything. For him these were standard. He wasn't so deluded to believe that everyone would see it that way. It would be unthinkable, unheard of and he had grown to be ashamed of his privileges while at the same time enjoying them whenever he could. Kai wasn't usually one to abuse his position, seeing as his Grandfather made a habit of it. Still he knew some skills would come in useful and driving at twelve was just one of such illegal skills. He was no stranger to riding a motorbike either.

He heard someone behind him beep loudly; glancing at the mirror, he watched the lorry gaining on him. The driver must be late, possible had no sleep and was speeding. Pressing down on the pedal, it automatically came off cruise control again, allowing him to speed up. He spun the wheel round, gracefully sliding into the next line, the lorry following his movements since he was passing all the slow cars. He imagined the sight might frighten the other travellers but at least it would give them a kick-start this crisp morning. He felt the adrenaline rush in his system and looked for an opportunity to move out of the way of the lorry. Casually he switched on the radio. Tuning it to anything but the news, he dived in and out getting ever closer to the junction that would lead him to the airport.

While listening to "Here in Your Arms" by HelloGoodbye after somehow managing to get a American Radio station which was surprisingly the only one that wasn't playing commercials, interviews or the weather forecast, he glided to the left and took his foot off the exhilarator. He slowed down and he returned to cruise control mode. The Lorry passed him and turned off at the next junction.

More and more signs indicated the airport was ahead. Traffic increased and it was only 5:00 am, he had been on the road nearly two hours. Shaking his head, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Should he get the car washed first? No, he had to find the airport and who knew how long that would take. He was quite good at navigation, considering he'd gotten this far he couldn't be all that bad but he wanted to get there in good time and any wrong turn could lead him anywhere.

As it turned out, he arrived at 8:00. He had taken a few detours, such as getting the car washed though some dirty still clung stubbornly to the vehicle. The other detours were just him getting lost having been in the wrong lane without realizing it. It took him half an hour to find parking, and even longer to locate where he was supposed to meet them. He'd checked his e-mails for the definite details that Tala had kindly given him so he knew exactly when and where. The airport was huge. He had been in many and this one more so but still moving around crowds and luggage was no easy task, despite how he made it look. He kept his head down and tried to be as unobtrusive as possible.

The tattoos on his face made him easily recognizable if anyone was into Beyblading in particular. The last thing he needed was to be ambushed by a load of screaming fan girls. He had seriously considered putting foundation on, as he was forced to do in his old school just to conceal them. Then there was the issue with his hair. He had too many standout features and they only came in useful to scare people away if they did not know him. Quite a number of tourists gave him disapproving glances as he moved silently past. Only one girl squealed and pointed at the sight of him. Her mother quickly hushed her.

Finally finding the gate, he walked to the nearest support beam and leaned against it, taking his accustomed pose. Another wonderful use of his hair was that it covered his entire face if he lowered his head. He always wondered if he would get arthritis in his neck for keeping his head bowed so often. Time ticked slowly by, but in reality it wasn't long before the plane was supposed to arrive, he was so great at getting lost in this airport. Seriously, everyone thought he was bordering on perfect but really, they had not idea how pathetic he was when it came to crowds. Sure, he could move easily through them but where he was heading was anyone's guess. As proven today. _Though if they had_ _maps_…

Ten minutes passed and the plane still had not arrived. He mumbled curses under his breathe and he was not the only one groaning. He was already going to be missed, he had slipped a note to Grandpa Granger since he didn't want him in particular to worry, but everyone else would have a freak. Tyson for certain, who wasn't above barricading Kai into the bathroom until he had his definite promise that he was not going to leave them until after the holidays. He could just see Hilary tearing the house apart, Rei calming telling everyone he was just out training and he would be back soon, Tyson screaming his head off, Max noticing Kai'd left his belongings but being ignored and everyone else stirring because of the racket. All the while Mr. Granger would be sleeping soundly until 11:00 a.m., as it was his rest day. He should really leave more than one notice.

Another half an hour passed after Mr. Granger would likely to have woken and calmed the frantic teens, and still no Plane. Kai'd shifted about three times and was close to nodding off. He'd been up since two! In fact, he was just about to sneak a quick nap when there was a burst of activity around him. Looked like the Plane had arrived at last, still they had to wait for everyone to get their luggage so there was no need to get all excited yet. He waited impatiently. People began to emerge and as he had expected the Blitzkrieg boys were the last out.

Kai wondered if there were purposely slow just to annoy him. At least they emerged. In the past Kai had once entertained the idea that if Bryan and Spencer were the same height as Ian then they'd have three out of Snow white's seven dwarfs; Bryan would be grumpy, Ian sleepy and Spencer dopey. As they moved towards him through the crowd of happy reunions, he was vividly reminded of this childhood idea.

"Stop staring at us like an idiot Hiwatari." Bryan greeted him with a usual challenge for superiority. In other words, he shoved his large and heavy Russian Army rucksack into Kai along with his words. The slate hair teen promptly shoved it back, accompanying the gesture with a glare that would have Kenny shaking in his boots and quite rightly forced Bryans smirk to drop a degree or so.

"I heard you begged on the phone last night," Ian piped up from somewhere near his kneecaps. Kai didn't like Ian near his knee caps so moved away.

"I don't suppose you two could be nice for at least five minutes." He countered, taking the hand luggage Tala offered him without thinking. He stopped himself taking anything else from the sly redhead by moving ahead of them to lead the way into the car park.

If he'd gotten any looks before they would only increase now the taller more noticeable Russians trailed him. In comparison, he wasn't much to talk about thus didn't understand the sudden yelling and pointing in _his_ direction. The others made quite a spectacle, trained from a young age to perfection, only marred by some irreversible genetic inheritance in appearance, mainly speaking about Ian's nose and height. Actually, Ian pretty much pulled the short straw (no pun intended), he didn't have any of the more appealing assets the others had, his stout form only showed vague signs of being sculpted by vigorous training.

Tala could be considered the most fortunate, though Bryan wasn't far behind. They were both tall without being too tall or muscular, they didn't have any particular visible physical issues and they were well kept. It scared him sometimes how girls swooned when Bryan smirked because as attractive as it may look to them, Kai knew it wasn't attractive at all since it meant someone, most likely him if he didn't move it, would get hurt. To him, Bryans smirk was as wonderful as a demonic hyena. Bryan looking adorably confused was another matter, since it meant he'd be preoccupied long enough for Kai to make a run for it. He'd kept Bryan constantly confused throughout the last tournament. It had been great. The falcon Blader had treated him with such caution that Kai had no fear of being brutally harmed at any point. That of course was mostly thanks to Tala telling the lilac hired teenager to keep his hands off Kai's neck as he was needed to help them win. Spencer had been there to enforce the redhead's ruling. The down side was they didn't trust him, not even as far as they could throw him, which was quite far, (especially if they were Spencer.)

His point was that out of the lot he was nothing special, despite what Japanese magazines claimed. He hated magazines. Tyson insisted on getting anything Beyblade related in case he was mention. Kai could never forget when the confident Champ had purchased such a magazine only to find his name was mentioned briefly near the end. He should have known better, it was girls' magazine. Kai'd rather not say but the article had in short been about how wonderful _he_ was, a bit about Rei and Max, even Hilary and Kenny got a mention. There were no scandalous stories, _thank god_, no photos, _thank god_, but it'd been embarrassing listening to Tyson mercilessly quoting experts and such people he'd never heard about talking about him and his body. It was downright unnerving. _How did they know what size pants he took!_

Why did people do this? There was nothing note worthy about _him_. Then again, if asked he supposed his best feature was his long fingers. Strange, but out of all the others he had the longest fingers, he really did! Unfortunately, he lacked the height that Tala, Bryan and Spencer possessed particularly Spencer, so he didn't have much going for him in many other areas.

On the other hand, he should be grateful he wasn't as short as Ian, in fact he should be grateful he _wasn't_ Ian. If he could wear a hat, he'd take it off to the youngest member of the Blitzkrieg boys for the having the confidence to not only go out in public but to make his presence known, (unfortunately his giant mop of hair made it impractical to wear a hat.) Ian was one of the most irritating people Kai knew, along with Kevin, as both went out of their way to annoy, be loud, offend, and whine. It must be a symptom of being vertically challenged; even Daichi was grating, loud and whiny. Pinocchio, as he was sometimes dubbed due to his most noticeable facial feature, was a complete contrast to Spencer. Spencer was tall, silent and dull looking. Truth was he wasn't dull at all! Hard to believe but he did have a brain and he put it to good use showing the most common sense when Tala wasn't around or Kai couldn't be bothered to sort out the constant disputes and squabbling of Bryan and Ian. You'd think Bryan would be intelligent enough to not provoke his mini team mate, but that was the problem, he _was_ intelligent. However, unlike Spencer who used his brain for the benefit of society and humanity as we know it, Bryan used his most active neurons to destroy society and humanity as we know it. Unfortunately, since he didn't have sufficient supplies to reek havoc to the masses he focused his malicious intents on two main people, Ian and Kai. Ian being the more easily harmed out of the pair, Kai knew better than to hang around when Bryan was in a irritable mood if he could help it because, unbelievably, he had a brain as well.

Tala was a very different issue; he was by far the most clever, manipulative and cunning out of the four. Usually violence wasn't his forte but mental attacks on others came as naturally to him as breathing, _kind of like girls in that respect._ He was smart enough not to humble himself to animalistic methods to show superiority. His favourite technique would be to wait until you slipped up, store it away in his fantastic memory and to haunt you with it in later life, usually for no good reason other than to make you feel worse about yourself. Kai had been subjected to this all the while he had been in hospital with the redhead. Not that he minded.

That sounded like a strange thing to say, until you compared his options. It was either having Mariah and Hilary (strangely enough) squabbling over the seat closest to his head, while he was only semi conscious and completely paranoid, wondering if the pink haired girl was planning to put something weird into the IV. At the same time, they'd be bickering about hospital regulations, just to deafen him when he couldn't tell them to shut up. Or he could have the company of Tala who'd promptly jump onto his hospital bed, regardless of the machines Kai was attached to or any rules against such things and berate the slate hair teenager about how moronic he was, oddly Kai preferred the second option. He wasn't given much choice about them but he was thankful every time the nurse shooed the girls away and an hour or so after sundown when the redhead crept in, despite being a patient and not being allowed out of bed at such times.

After Tyson's beat Brooklyn they'd had to go back into the hospital, Tala because they didn't let people who'd just come out a comma wander off. The redhead couldn't get Mr Dickenson to allow him to stay out and he'd pushed his luck even venturing out when he had. Kai because he'd fainted again, thankfully after he got down from that giant rock he'd found himself perched on after strange things started to happen during the Beybattle, that and because he'd pushed his luck by even getting out of the hospital bed when he shouldn't have been outside anyway. That meant more time in the uncomfortable bed with only his 'Tala time' to anticipate. Who'd have thought you could lose so much blood during a seemingly harmless game with spinning tops. He had a point when he said it wasn't just a game with him, it was life and death and with Brooklyn that was quite literal.

Yes, that was what he _had_ called it, 'Tala time' not aloud of course. Sometimes he wondered which was worse, coming up with stupid names like that or comparing the other three to Snow White's dwarfs. Everyone thought he was mature and certainly acts of obvious insane immaturity grated on his nerves but he wasn't all sane in the head either. That had been proved on more than one occasion; he had come to the point where he had to admit to himself that he could be complete psycho at times. That revelation had been curiously comforting. Thankfully, despite popular belief, Tala was not a mind reader; if he were he would most probably never talk to Kai again and his secret of being a closet happy psycho was safe. You may have guessed he'd thought this while heavily intoxicated with drugs but the idea had stuck in his head ever since. Although he estimated, it'd be another year before he fully recovered. He cursed the side effects with all his mind power while mutely leading the Blitzkrieg Boys to the Jeep.

He should have tried harder to engage in conversation; even bickering might have damped the tension between them but his last comment seemed to have subdued them into a suspicious silence. The only one who was relaxed was Tala, Naturally, he was the most at ease around with their old team mate. The others still clung to their believe that Kai was nothing more than a backstabbing traitor. He couldn't blame them there. He could try to be nicer but when someone greeted him, by shoving their heavy pack into his gut, knowing it was not only twice his weight and that the force would wind him as well, (and if Bryan was so lucky, knock him over,) he felt obliged to be slightly pissed off. As a result, he was more than grateful when the team captain took the front passenger seat.

As a bonus, Tala figured out how to work the window that could screen off those in the back from the front, like in a limousine. On the down side, the redhead was a notorious back street driver. He wasn't pleased when they hit slow moving traffic. He insisted Kai drove faster and over take any frustratingly slow vehicles in front of them. Kai obediently did as he was told, wanting to get back as soon as possible, but he also made sure he didn't do anything illegal or stupid, wanting to get back alive, in one piece and without a fine. On more than one occasion they did speed precariously close to some poor unsuspecting vehicle, that was nearly always on its last legs, with an ancient driver, that nearly always wore big, thick glasses, which magnified their eyes to look like that of a praying mantis'. These old beings would glare beadily at the passing four by four, having being close to suffering heart attacks, and try to catch the license plate number. One even shook a fragile fist at them, causing Kai to sink low into his seat, thanking the inventor of tinted windows, as he sped away as fast as the limit would allow.

Tala, always wearing a smug grin, would ask casually how it was like living with Tyson and the 'rest of the ramble'. He would, of course, ask this question right after yelling urgently for him to watch out for some truck or to move into the next lane. Kai knew he was getting a kick out of destroying his already frail nerves. It wasn't so bad when he was on his own, but he was always conscious to the fact that the passenger's lives were in his hand's and as much as he hated Tala's interference it actually was very useful since it stopped Kai getting lost he just wished the redhead wouldn't leave to the last minute to tell him. This of course meant Tala still didn't have an answer to his question since Kai was diligently keeping as much attention to the road as he could.

"Earth to Kai! Anyone in there?"

"Stop that," the Japanese teenager swatted Tala's hand away from his shoulder, "hasn't anyone told you not to both someone when their driving!"

"Someone's grumpy." The Russian leaned back into his seat, looking slightly put out and sulky expression on his face. The Captain was the most temperamental and emotional member of the team and Kai decided he had the widest 'feeling vocabulary' than most people he knew. Or at least when he was in a mood and there were many kinds of moods he had, the redhead made sure you knew about it.

"You would be to if you woke up to two o'clock in the morning, got lost on the way to the airport, only to have a super strong oaf shove their pack into your gut as a welcome, then have some annoying back street driver who's hell bend on giving you a heart attack."

Tala sighed and leaned against the window, eyes watching the scenery fly by, "Yeah, I forgot how much of a nervous wreck you are when your drive."

"Thanks for your understanding." He snapped back, flexing his fingers to get blood flowing into them again, he'd been gripping the wheel too tightly.

"You could always pull over and let me drive." The Russian suggested, a smile creeping back.

"I would like to get back alive and with out taking a detour to the police station, if that's okay with you." Kai breathed a sigh of relief as the they neared the end of the motorway, it would not be long now and he could relax…or at least not have to worry about crashing.

"I suppose I could live with it. Oh just another two miles before we reach our destination that was fast."

Kai shot him a dirty look wondering how his friend could be so off hand. Suddenly there was a knock on the glass behind them. Rolling his eyes Tala pressed the button and the glass lowered. "What do you want?"

He didn't even look a Ian when he said this, but Kai did and noticed the small Russian was looking a bit off colour. "I'll kill you if you've thrown up on the leather." He stated flatly, he really would since he'd be the one who would have to clean it.

"How about some sympathy!" The midget scowled but couldn't quite manage an angry tone since he did sound quite sick. "It's your crazy driving that's to blame!"

"Are Bryan and Spencer ill?" Tala asked, slight amusement edging his words. He'd love it if Bryan was ill. Bryan hardly ever succumbed to sickness of any kind much to Tala's dismay. Bryan had an awful habit of remembering all their aliments and mentally documented all embarrassing fiascos that were caused during that time or just how horrible they looked, to haunt them with later. For example when Spencer got food poisoning he'd insist on giving vivid descriptions about the contents of Spencer's stomach juices after they'd poured out of his mouth. Soup had never been quite as appetising since. That was one of the nicer examples. Bryan managed to turn one person's shortcomings into something that would plague them all.

"No."

"Then it's your fault your ill."

"What kind of crumby logic is that?" The young boy's scowl deepened but a he quickly had to clamp his hand on his mouth while they gently turned a corner. There was a definite green tinge to his cheeks and he made a swallowing sound before flinching. Both Tala and Kai grimaced knowing he'd just had to swallow his sick, not that they weren't grateful he hadn't barfed all over them.

"Hold it in, we're almost there." Kai tried to reassure him, showing the first hint of concern.

"I told you, you should have kept your sick bag from the plane, but did you listen to me? No." Tala chided his teammate sounding like an aspirated mother.

Before Ian could make a come back he abruptly disappeared from view, replaced by a rather annoyed looking Bryan. This would not help Kai with his nerves and redoubled his efforts to ignore what was going on next to him.

"Did someone say we were nearly there?" The violet haired Russian inquired with his usual fed up and irritated tone. He did not like being cooped up with a load of luggage and a sick Ian who could throw up at any minute.

"Yes." Kai replied wearily, inwardly hoping he hadn't taken a wrong turn because knowing his luck he would have done and not even realised until they were miles from their destination.

There was a pause then Bryan asked, "What are you going to do with the car?"

"I'm heading to the mansion now so I guess I'm going to put it back in the garage." As expected Bryan took a moment to realise what this would mean for them, Tala sat back smirking. Even though he was going to have to trudge all the way to Tyson's house as well, he would bear it just to listen to Bryan's whining. He just had to make sure he wasn't in the same room as the falcon Blader when he found the bricks he'd put in his suitcase, though he wondered why his friend had not queried the extra weight before now.

"Hold on a second, you mean we're going to have to walk friggin who-knows-how-many-miles from your stupid mansion to Tyson's house!" Bryan was not amused. Personally, Kai was impressed by the lack of swearing in that sentence, he guessed the Russian was practising for when he had to mingle with normal civilization.

"It's not like I can drop you off at his front gate." He reasoned, "They don't know I can drive and I want to keep it that way. Besides do you want to be left alone with them for hours and hours while I return the car and come back?"

"I'd prefer it to walking a hundred miles! You could drop us a few streets away." Bryan suggested. It was a fair point but Kai didn't feel confident enough with his dismal navigation techniques to trust himself with all the side roads and so on. It was safer and cheaper to do it his way and if he had to fork out for a taxi, then so be it.

"You want to be lost in Tokyo?"

The violet haired teenager just huffed and called him pathetic. Something Kai was beginning to agree with more and more, _what was coming over him? _Feeling his anger rising, he leaned over and pressed the button and the glass began to rise. Bryan yelped and quickly retreated before he head was severed. That would shut him up.

"You really _are_ in a mood." Tala commented adjusting himself in his seat and then his hair. The redhead had as many girlie habits as he did sadistic ones, but that Kai guessed was part of his charm. The whole team was a bunch of oddballs when you thought about it but then so were a few other teams he knew.

"I've just got a lot on my mind that's all."

"As always, you'd think with the World Champions over and the end of BEGA you'd be able to relax, but that'd be too easy for you. You have to be doing something until you can't handle it anymore, is it possible for you to do one thing at a time Kai? Or are you just an obsessive multitasker."

Finally, the Russian was content to lie back in his seat and not shuffle or direct his friend. He was worried about Kai, in his own way of course. He just wanted him to take it easy, the Japanese youth was always juggling two lives and with his Grandfather in jail and the rest of his family who-knows-where, the huge empire that his family had built up over the years was left in Kai's hands. Of course, there were other people to sort out most of the business, but on certain matters, Kai had to get involved. During the World Championships, there was one such issue that had lasted for weeks and the teenager was up for many nights trying to sort it out. That was how Tala had gotten involved. Fed up with the phone calls, and the long night discussions that he was excluded from, he barged into the lounge of their hotel room in Spain with the plan to demand what was going on. He'd found Kai slumped over his laptop, which he kept strictly for business back then, trying to figure some logic solution out. He'd looked so stressed and tired Tala had lost the heart to yell at him. By gentle coaxing, he'd managed to find everything out and even think of a worthwhile solution. In the end, it was joint effort to work something out and resolve the issue just before the finals and that was how Tala had first got involved with his friend's business. He proved to be quite a natural at it, even taking some of the phone calls if his teammate was busy and went under the guise of Kai's personal secretary, his own personal joke even though Kai did all the paper work.

"That's not even a word."

Snapping from his nostalgia, Tala smirked. "Come on, you have to admit that there has hardly been a time in your life when you haven't got at least two thing to worry about?"

"Does it really matter?" Kai asked. They were moving away from the outer suburbs now, he could tell by the larger and more spacious housing. This development had annoyed his Grandfather because it meant civilisation was a few hundred yards closer than before. Kai quite like the demure patterned fences and considerately designed homes with their neat gardens, which well off, and proud owners tended to lovingly or got someone else to tend to them lovingly. He liked them because they were big and spacious without going to stupid extremes. On the other hand if he could be bothering taking the mansion out of the middle ages and actually turn it into something liveable and homely the place might grow on him. Of course that depended on what make of paint could cover painful memories.

"Well if it means your going to be even more of a grouch then usual then yes it does matter."

Kai didn't reply to that, he needed to turn left somewhere along this road and he wasn't sure which one. Why did they have to have the motorway on the other side of town? Then again, Tyson's home was even farther in the other direction so he should be grateful. He was fine coming out but coming back was confusing since he had to take a different route thanks to one-way systems and messy road repairs.

"Turn left here."

"What?" He did so, trusting the redhead more than himself especially since he'd found a map from somewhere.

"Just follow my directions and speed up; I'm sure I saw a snail go past."

Giving his friend a light punch on the arm he did as he was told, sure enough they managed to arrive at the mansion faster, obviously, and without getting lost all thanks to Tala and in one piece all thanks to Kai. Using his brain, he stopped in front of the gates so they could unload and wait for him.

It took a comical few minutes, as the Russian's made even something as simple as taking luggage from the back of a car hazardous, Kai stayed out his way until it was finished. Bryan was cussing every other word as Ian got under his feet and he dropped his suitcase on his foot. This caused Tala to laugh hysterically when a fresh wave of curses flowed from the other Russian's mouth. At some point Ian ran off to throw up and Spencer ended up sorting the chaos out. Once done Kai returned the Jeep without any hassle and was soon running back to the front gate and slipping through the metal bars.

The Russian's had seen his mansion before in pictures, but nothing compared to the real thing of course. The multi-storey building hardly looked homely but there was some vague majesty about it. The giant fountain, that was minute from where they stood, glinted in the distance and the grounds looked beautiful and full of life in the bright sun. The brick and stone building was brighter and even welcoming like some old Regency mansion from a Jane Austen book.

"How much space do you need?" Bryan looked at the scene before him, as if it was something nasty off his shoe.

"When my Grandfather entertained business guests it got surprisingly full, it's not as big as you think in that respect but when it was just the two of us it seems a whole lot bigger." Kai answered calmly while walking pointed away from the gates.

"I heard you have a lake!"

"Ian shut up."

"It's only a small lake and it's not even ours, the house just leads on to it. It's got great views but it's horrible on the inside." Kai explained, scratching the back of his head trying to remember. "Anyway let's get going."

"That's like that Brooklyn character, all nice and innocent on the outside but a total mess inside." Bryan thought aloud as they picked up their stuff.

"How poetic of you, Bryan. But he's sorted his issues out now I think." Kai called over his shoulder setting a brisk pace.

"Hold up would you, some of us have things to carry!" Bryan speeded up but he seemed to be having some difficulty with his pack, "How do you know he's sorted his issues as you put it, best friends now or something?"

Kai sighed loudly, really Bryan didn't know him at all if he could accuse him of that, "No he's just staying at Tyson's with everyone else and if you must know if I just look at him it sends him into mental breakdown."

"You do that to people."

And so it went on. They walked, shuffled and stumbled down the hill. Spencer not complaining once, Ian complaining enough for them all. Eventually Kai just took his bag off him and put it over his shoulder, it also shut Bryan up but after half an hour, and his shoulder was aching. It was a bit late to recall Ian's collection of large and heavy objects such as his old Beyblade launcher and large, half-finished, helicopter model parts. How they managed to get away with bringing this stuff on the plane was beyond him, did they bring any clothes?

Meanwhile Tala was thankful he had not put bricks in Ian's case, he had been planning to do that but his case was heavy enough. Kai was really being nice helping the shrimp out, and he had cheered up now he was not driving. He smiled; Kai was such a nervous driver. The Japanese weather was so different to Moscow's cold climate. When they'd left there had been a gentle snow flakes falling. The breeze he found was pleasantly cooling and the smell of food, trees and dew rode on the airwaves. It was strangely peaceful and brought to mind the classic Japanese art works of Stalks in lagoons and elegant butterflies dancing over flowers. That was the great thing about Japan; their beautiful summers that brought even the simplest buildings to life. His homeland was made for winter, the spotless white covering that covered the poverty and dirt of the streets, the snow that hung on skeletal tree branches of vast forests or on golden domes in the crowded cities. Each came with their unpleasant aspects of course, Tala thought swatting a fly that had been annoying him. In Russia, such pests perished in the bitter cold.

Kai seemed okay now he was on the streets but then he did have some sense of direction despite his claims, unless he had a special knack of getting lost in the right direction. Tala shrugged, he was fed up of looking at his friend's back and sped up to walk next to him.

"Hey, who is actually there already?"

Kai gave him a swift sideward's glance catching the slight nervous tone. Tala was good in crowds compared to the others but they were all pretty antisocial and the thought of spending a few days or more in the same building as twenty odd other teenagers was a daunting prospect. He didn't get along with a fair few of them if Kai remembered correctly. At least he dragged the rest of his crew with him so there would be a group of them.

He thought for a moment before answering, "Well there is Tyson, obviously. Therefore, you would expect Daichi, Hilary, and Kenny to be there. Max and most of the AllStarz are there but Steve from the first World Championships still has his leg in a cast and couldn't make it. Then there is the White Tiger's and F-Sangre and Barthez battalion but I think they are changing their names, anyway there is also Mystel, Garland and Brooklyn. Crusher is looking after his sister Monica and Mingming is promoting her CD though she may turn up but I'm praying she won't."

"I share your prayers. Great I get to see Mr. Perfect again and the loud mouth cockroach. Oh what fun is this going to be?" He couldn't have sounded more sarcastic if he tried. Like him, Tala held a grudge until revenge had been duly given upon the poor individual that feel fool of his favour. If not in the Beystadium then outside and as far as Kai was concerned it was better when squabbles ended in the dish. Though Garland was far from perfect as living with him soon relieved, but his description of Daichi was fairly accurate.

They were nearing the outer suburbs now; the patterned gardens were clearly visible below. He paused to enjoy the view and wait for the rest to catch up. They'd have to roam they're way through that network to get to the other side where Tyson's house would be… somewhere.

"Well let's get the show on the road, you still remember the way?" Bryan asked, he had zero faith in the two tone haired Blader.

"So long as I don't think about it too much, we may end up in the right place."

"Stop that, you know the way so stop being an idiot and get moving." Tala unceremoniously pushed him and the set off again.

Indeed, He did know the way, or his feet did which was quite nice but there was no signs of a taxi, not that you'd expect many in the suburbs. People watched them as the lumbered passed now practically dragging their cases behind them. The heat was making their shoulders wilt, but it wouldn't be long now until they reach their destination. They got a few looks walking through the city and Tala had taken off his Jacket, so he didn't look as stupid sweating with a jacket on.

They would never have made it this far in good time as well if they weren't all athletically fit, but even so they looked exhausted. They couldn't be bothered waiting for the train and no taxi appeared to be vacant which was annoying. It looked like they were going to have to walk the entire way. Ian never stopped complaining, his baggy jeans were clinging to him, as was his shirt. Coming from Russia, they had to compromise between wrapping up warm to get to the airport but not too much so they didn't die from the heat on this end, tala checking the weather on the web informed them of a heat wave. The Japanese teen was happy he invested in a laptop for the redhead who made good use of it.

Kai felt a little sympathy for them, but at least there was plenty of shade. He allowed the gentle hum of city life pass them by, the atmosphere was quite pleasant. They talked, he asked about how things were back in Russia and how they were coping. They told him it was going okay, Spencer was going for a job in a garage, and Bryan would be finishing school next year. They still stayed in the abbey even though most of the other boys had left to go to a state orphanage. Kai bit his lip, wanting to offer them help but knew they'd reject it and Bryan would accuse him of splashing his wealth about. They struggled to get by in between tournaments hence why winning was so important to them since it would earn them some money to pay for school fees in the hopes they'd get good jobs. It made Kai feel guilty just thinking about it.

Once the conversation had died into an awkward silence, Kai tried another angle of conversation, "So how's the Beyblading going?"

"Alright, we still have the dishes in the Abbey so we're lucky." Tala said off hand reading the advertisements that flickered on and off on the big screens. It was getting more crowded as the buildings became to grow as they neared the central business district.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh the authorities have been clearing out the dishes on the street and it been getting harder to get parts and all sorts of stuff, or its getting more expensive." For the first time that day Tala sounded bitter, leaving Kai wishing he'd picked a different conversation topic.

"Why?" This didn't sound right, Beyblade things had always been easy to get even for the less well off in Russia, that was why it was so popular in the first place.

"It's a big business now or was, since BEGA anyway. I think its going back to normal but I'm not sure." Tala said moving so he was closer to Kai, while the other's formed a line behind them.

"Why aren't you sure?" there was something in Tala's tone that set Kai on edge, he sounded a little upset about something.

"Well a new Beyblade organisation is being set-up in Moscow."

"So?" He didn't really understand what was so distressing about this, it wasn't unusual for other countries to have their own organisations.

"Well let's put it this way, after that earthquake here that destroyed the BEGA building Boris got million's in compensation. Most of it went to your Grandfather's bank but he still got enough to pay for a lawyer and buy the Jury out when he returned to Russia. He also managed to destroy a lot of the evidence against him as well so there was hardly a case to convict him when it got to it. You know about him still being influential in the Beyblading over there, don't you? Well put the ends together."

Kai nodded, suddenly feeling nauseous. _Why couldn't that man just go away?_ Worse still when his Grandfather got out of prison Boris would be hanging round again.

"You think he's trying to take control of the Beyblading market liked he did here?"

"Probably, the police are keeping a close eye on him but he's managed to get a good name for himself and is starting his smarmy act again. To be honest Kai I hope Mr. Kasparkov hurries up with negotiating with Mr. Dickenson so at least there will be a BBA office around. I couldn't bear to have to enter the world championships with Boris as a sponsor ever again." Tala had grown more quiet as he'd talked, his friend sensed it might not have anything to do with the fact that they discussing private business on the streets.

"Can't you press charges for assault and …you know, the other stuff?" He tried anything to get that creep behind bars.

Tala turned away slightly, "It's too late now, he'd deny it anyway and I'm not going through all that embarrassment for nothing."

Again, Kai nodded, he was still biting his lip getting more and more worried with how things were turning out. He hoped that things would sort themselves out as they usually did. "So I guess we're just going to have to wait and see then."

Shocked the redhead looked at him, "How can you say that, if we leave it who know's what'll he do. Didn't BEGA teach you that if you leave it for too long it'll be too late. We can't just wait!"

The were coming towards a busy road and had to stop for the lights to change. The heavy stream of traffic rolled by, they bunched together preparing to move with the masses to get across. Tala at this point stopped talking and pretended nothing was amiss though that was before he reminded kai just how close they came to losing against BAGA last year.

A skyscraper was advertising Mingming's CD nearby, a pair of boys, possibly a year younger them, stood next to them and were talking about it.

"She's so hot!" One exclaimed and his friend agreed vigorously. "I hear she's a great Beyblader as well!"

"She's so cool…"

_I think I'm going to hurl…_

Kai rolled his eyes, it was bad enough putting up with Kenny doing the same thing, really he didn't even know what was so great about her, sure she could sing but her music wasn't his taste and she had an annoying attitude most of the time anyway.

When they crossed the road, leaving the city area and getting nearer the residential area Tala was still seething. Kai was loathed to remind the hothead how his rash actions landed him in hospital last time but the Russian needed some consolation, "Hey we should discuss this in private some other time…..I just don't want you getting hurt again."

Tala blinked at him his frustration forgotten, "You feeling alright?"

Kai pulled a face, every time he tried to be nice they thought he was ill or up to something, "I'm fine, what type of sicko do you think I am? I don't actually like people being beaten up you know."

"Could have fooled me." _Carlos was an exception…_

"Look, if your going to bring Boris down I want in but I'm also going to make sure your not going to do anything stupid okay. For now let's just see how things with Mr. Kasparkov turn out."

"I'm not a baby and who says I'll need your help?" Tala shot back his frustration returning, he always hated how Kai would take charge of things.

"Trust me Tala I know your anything but a baby but whether you like it or not we are going to have to work together if it comes to that, you may not need me but…but I see things a little differently."

The redhead raised an eyebrow to this statement adjusting his hold on his bags. "You think I need you?"

"No."

Tala thought for a minute, and then he smiled, "You need us?"

Nodding he turned a corner, it would just be a couple of blocks more and they would come to the canal, from there it would just be a fifteen minute walk.

"What are you two whispering about? Could you wait up?"

Both boys turned round to find the rest down the bottom of the street. Ian's tongue was lolling out the side of his mouth as he panted like a exhausted dog. Spencer was just strolling at a leisurely pace, any discomfort he may have been suffering went unacknowledged and Bryan was scowling at them. They could see the menace in his eyes even from this distance.

"Fine, we'll discuss this later Kai, but once Bryan finds out about it he'll push for us to do something. Boris is building his empire as we speak we don't have forever."

"Fine," the phoenix Blader sighed, "but for now just enjoy the vacation."

"I'll try," Tala smirked to himself, "even if I have to put up with hundreds of people who don't like me."

"You know how I feel now. Only you've brought at least one more who hates my guts." Kai eyed the violet haired teenager as he said this. That was an interesting thought was Bryan's hair gray or violet? In the light, it was violently gray but in the dark, it was such a very light gray. Violet highlights perhaps.

"Oh you know he's always been like that, even when he called you a friend in the Abbey." Tala grinned; he was perhaps the only person bar Spencer whom you could honestly say Bryan liked but that of course didn't stop the Falcon Blader seeking revenge for some evil comment or insult Tala threw his way. Kai didn't need to do anything to aggravate the Russian who constantly viewed him with contempt and sometimes confusion. "Actually he was bordering on nice to you during the tournament, ignoring the suspicion of course. If you think about it he's have less violent and positive these days."

"He was only in a good mood because we we're winning." Kai reasoned, one thing to make Bryan happy was Beyblading and another thing was videogames. So long as he was doing well at both he was reasonably tranquil if you ignore his sharp tongue.

At last, they caught up. Together the group marched on, reaching the canal where some kids were playing and in no time at all they were walking through the park. They talked some more, on more pleasant matters and Kai gleefully told them about the horrors that awaited them. It looked like their captain had left out a few details when he was persuading them to come over. Not that Kai had anything to look forward to, except a telling off for disappearing.

They returned to the rows and rows of housing. Here they were older more established. This side of town was quiet and pleasant like it was hundred's of miles from the busy city in the outer suburbs. The houses were more varied as well, not all were as big Tyson's Grandfathers Dojo, slash home. Still they were charming in their own way; each house had its own personality being so well established. If anything, it made them better than the uniformity of the more well off homes on the other side of town.

"I think I just heard something rip." Ian commented, when they were just a few streets away.

"Sure it wasn't Tala's pants." Bryan joked. It was a long-standing thing that the older teenager thought Tala wore too tight pants; as usual, it earned him a glare from the offended redhead.

"It was most probably his bag, dragging it on the floor like that would do it any good." Spencer's deep and calm voice informed them. They'd been taking it in turns to hold the luggage currently Kai was holding Tala's bag which was pleasantly light.

"It's heavy though!" They all just rolled their eyes, as if they hadn't heard that before. They'd all run out of insults to give the pip squeak so didn't make comment. Walking hours and hours in the sweltering heat, while carrying suitcases, was a perfect way to lull the usually aggressive teenagers.

"Its not far now." There were groans to this and Kai realised he'd said that about half an hour ago, "Seriously."

They trudged on until another loud ripping noise made them stop again. Ian's bag had a giant tear in the back of it, bits of metal were scattered on the pavement were it's spilled out of his bag.

"This is just great!" Bryan grumbled.

Dropping the redhead's bag on the floor Kai bend down and helped Spencer and Ian clear up the mess. Tala picked up the bits that had ended up further up the pavement and Bryan joined in. The complicated part was figuring out how to carry it now. Ian couldn't do it. While the Russain's sorted it out Kai heard familiar voices around the corner. Getting up he rushed to see who it was and surprised to find Tyson, Max and Daichi standing right in front of him, looking more than a little taken aback by his abrupt appearance.

_Well didn't he look like a total __idiot_?

They stood for a second staring at each other, the trio frozen in shock after bumping right into the person they were looking for. It didn't take long for Tyson to recover and he didn't look happy.

"Where the hell have you been?" Kai just blinked at his angry tone, which reminded him so much of Hiro. "Everyone's worried sick!"

"Didn't you get my note?"

"You left a note?"

Before Kai could reply a new voice joined in, "Why did you run off Kai?" Tala had strolled round the corner to see what all the fuss was about; looking curiously at Tyson's hilariously shocked face he said, "Oh hello."

"TALA!"

"Way to state the obvious." That was Bryan, they'd sorted the bag trauma so they whole team was facing off against the trio they'd stumbled upon.

"Wow that was fast!" Max quickly put in, "You came straight over after Kai called?"

"We had nothing else better to do." Tala shrugged, "So are you just going to stand here and gawk at us for the rest of the day?"

"Ah yeah, err this way." Tyson instantly jumped into action his anger at Kai evaporating as he lead the newcomers to his home, getting more and more excited as he did.

"Hey everyone guess who's here!" Daichi yelled as soon as they reached the tall wooden gates. Tyson's Grandpa was doing squats in the corner of the yard, balancing his wooden sword on the end of his nose. The Russian's eyed him curiously. Tyson had run off after Daichi so they were left alone with Max and Grandpa who did not intend to stop his exercise.

"Sorry about that." The blonde boy apologized, "It's a bit lively round here but you'll get used to it."

Tala just nodded, the others looked sullen and Kai was dreading it when Mariah and everyone else got hold of him. He didn't have to wait long, like a herd of raging rhinos the horde of teenagers charged to the front of the yard, scaring Grandpa Granger enough to make him drop his sword. Kai slunk behind Spencer hoping to go unnoticed for as long as possible.

"You're here!" _they had to state the obvious, didn't they?_

"Never expect to see you guys so soon!"

"Come in, come in!"

Hilary practically dragged Tala into the house and the others had no choice to be herded in after him. Kai being largely ignored for now slipped off to the side and decided to skulk about the yard for a while. However, that was no to be. No sooner had he got to the small pond at the back of Tyson's home that he heard someone call his name. Turning round slowly he came face to face with a very pissed off looking pink-haired neko-kin. His left eyebrow twitched.

"What type of note is this," She shoved the scrape of paper into his chest and he recognised it as the note he'd left Tyson's grandpa, "It doesn't tell us anything! No wonder Grandpa put it in the bin!"

"Stop yelling." Really, she didn't have to, she was right in his face their noses were practically touching.

"Do you realise how worried we've been. We only just stopped searching for you! Hilary was in tears! You have no consideration, what kind of person are you, making girls cry?" She stepped closer to him with every word until he was backed up against the wall. He didn't like this, there was no way she was going to intimidate him that was for sure. Why did she have no respect for people's personal space?

"I wasn't intentionally this late, could you back off." He glared at her and she did ease away slightly but she was determined to give him more than a piece of her mind.

"How Rei can see anything in you is beyond me but I wouldn't have you upsetting my friend or causing any more trouble even if I have to tie you up every night so you don't sneak off. From now on you tell us where you're going and when you'll be back."

"I didn't know I was going to be this late." He repeated as he went to move along the wall and hopefully away from her, but she grabbed his shirt and forced him back, pressing hard into his chest. It didn't hurt much, she wasn't as strong as Bryan anyway, and if he'd used a little bit of force he could push her off but then he'd get accused of all sorts of things if he did that, so it was better to wait for the banshee to finish.

"Are you listening to me? I said you're not going anywhere unless you tell us, one more stunt like this and I _will_ tie you up…"

"Well, well, well and I always though she had the hots for Rei. Tough luck Catboy."

_Oh, this could not get any worse. _

The pair looked over to their left, Mariah still had Kai pushed up against the wall but she'd forgotten all about that. Hilary, the whole of the White Tiger X team and Mystel were staring wide eyed at them. Bryan, who had made the comment was smirking his face off and added, "Kai you're getting beaten up by girls now? I knew you were weak but that's just pathetic."

"It's called being a gentleman." He shot back, allowing anger to replace his embarrassment. Gently he removed Mariah's hand and she quickly jumped away with enough consideration to blush.

"It's not like that at all! Don't be sick!" She yelled blood continually rushing to her face.

"It's okay, Mariah calm down." Rei smiled seeing the fun side though no one else did. Lee was looking ready to throttle Kai and Bryan. Kevin was caught between cracking a joke and shock, while Mystel was looking away from them as if he'd walked in on something inappropriate, Gary was just Gary and Hilary and run off somewhere. "Kai had a good reason for going, lay off him okay."

The phoenix Blader did well not to pull a face. As grateful as he was for his Chinese friend's power to control the she-devil he didn't like how it made him sound like some defenceless puppy which only seem to emphasis Bryan's earlier comment.

"Well I'm going down to the market to buy some more fruit who wants to come?" Mystel asked, quickly returning to his happier more child-like self now the tension had collapsed. Gary and Kevin instantly agreed.

"You guys coming?" this was directed at remaining White Tigers, there was a long pause before they nodded as well. When Rei walked past Kai he gave him another apologetic smile as he apologised for his teammate's behaviour but Lee just shot him a filthy look, his dark eyes narrowing in pent up rage.

When they left, he sighed loudly, flopped onto the grass and looked at the Koi fish lazily swimming in their small pond. He was tired beyond belief, a headache threatened and now had the Lion man on his case. He also had more telling offs to look forward to and worse still an upset Hilary to apologise to otherwise he'd never hear the last of it. Why couldn't life be simple for once?

He sensed Bryan coming towards him, most likely to gloat and tease him.

"You should really stand up for your self better, Hiwatari."

Kai looked up at the Falcon Blader, both eyebrows threatening to disappear under his bangs. _Was Bryan giving him advice!_

Before he knew what was happening Bryan flopped down next to him and yawned. "Don't look at me like that, you've gone soft Kai and that wouldn't d you any good."

"I have not gone soft." Kai returned his attention back to the fish while Bryan leaned back against the wall. The water rippled as a small wind blew across it and the beautifully patterned fish quickly darted away from its chilling touch, disturbed from their pleasant sun bathe.

"What's on your mind?" he sounded so tired and actually caring the younger teenager couldn't help but whipping round to stare at Bryan.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't but if your going to help us get rid of Boris once and for all your going to have to be tougher than that. As amusing as it would be to see you get your ass kicked by a girl I have the Blitzkrieg Boys reputation to consider."

"Gee, thanks." He leaned back as well feeling extremely drained. He wondered vaguely what had happened to the others but couldn't be bothered asking. "You know about Boris already?"

"Yep, have done for ages. Despite what you think I'm not stupid." The other teen replied sounding very casual about the matter, "I agree with Tala that we stop it as soon as possible, but you're the one with the brains to do it right." He added the last bit with bitter reserve.

"Me?"

"That's exactly what I mean!"

"What?" his question earned him an annoyed punch in the arm and he glared at his abuser.

"That's exactly my point, before you would have been all smug about the fact that we needed your help but now you're just some self doubting fool."

"You're insight is creepy." Bryan ignored his comment and took in Kai's sagging posture. He looked worn, it'd only been a few months but the Russian noticed he'd lost weight, which was dangerous considering how thin Kai was already. Feeling a twinge of concern he forcibly pushed it down, Kai deserved all he got, and it was about time it caught up with him. He'd be content to let the phoenix Blader wallow in his own troubles for a while longer.

"You think we'll be able to stop him."

"The old git? Sure." The Falcon Blader pulled a dagger from the side of his boot and began twirling it in his pale fingers. Kai watched him for a while, he wasn't alarmed by the fact that Bryan could sneak weapon's from country to country, he'd done it through out the Word Championships. The Japanese Blader could bet his life that Bryan had more stashed away somewhere on his person. He'd perfected the art of concealing his weapons beyond any form of detection at the Abbey and Kai grinned at the thought of making Boris regret the things he'd taught his former students, it will definitely come back to haunt him.

"Are you willing to trust me?"

"No."

"Then why insist in my involvement?"

Bryan quit twirling his weapon and looked at him as if he was stupid, "Because Tala trusts you and you know Boris better than any of us."

"I resent that remark..."

"Just shut up and listen. The only reason I'm here is to make sure you're not up to anything." Kai couldn't believe it, the Tournament was over couldn't the guy give him a break there was hardly anything he could get up to. "You know how he thinks and you've proved that number of times in the past."

"He's not exactly difficult to figure out and Ata is just as smart as I am." He inadvertently used Tala's pet name from the Abbey. It earned him another strange look.

"Tala lets his emotions rule over his mind, you actually act rationally." It was killing Bryan to say this that much was evident from his body language.

"All these complements Bryan, I'm so touched." He made a mock demure gesture of putting his hand on his heart. The Falcon Blader rolled his eyes but remained serious.

"I'm not fooling around; I will not see Tala hurt again." That was the sweet thing about Bryan, when you were his friend he looked out for you no matter what, unfortunately he couldn't give a damn about Kai and wouldn't turn a hair if the Japanese youth disappeared off the face of the Earth.

"In that case we both want the same thing, though if I recall you have no qualms about manhandling your captain if he insults you."

"I haven't hospitalised him yet." Bryan reminded him resuming his twirling though in a more agitated manner. The pair were getting quite settled, sitting in the shade was wonderfully relaxing. However Kai was haunted by memories of what the teen next to him was actually capable of, true he'd never hurt Tala enough to put him in the hospital but the redhead was a rare exception, not even Spencer had managed to come out of a training session without breaking a bone or nursing server cuts. Bryan had broken Kai's arm once, the insulting thing was he wasn't even trying because Kai had been trying to defend Ian at the time and simply got in the way.

"Unlike hundreds of other unfortunate souls that have past your way, you must be really suffering now the Abbey can't supply you with fresh meat anymore." It came out more bitter than he intended but Bryan wasn't the only annoyed one.

"Guess I'll just have to make do with you."

Kai grimaced at that, feeling the promise in the words and wished he'd kept his gob shut, then again if Bryan wanted to see him act tough he might as well start now, "I may not hit girls but I would have immense pleasure punching you."

Bryan raised an eyebrow at this; both knew Bryan could send him running no matter how tough he tried to be. Kai was a better at fighting technique wise but Bryan had far more muscle and sadistic imagination then Kai would ever have.

"Try and you die."

No point arguing there and it would be immature to bring up the small fact that the violet haired teens words had rhymed. They sat in subdued and tired silence for a while which Kai was glad of. He could see the point that emotions made you weak, mentally anyway and right now, he felt like an emotional wreck. The very people he wanted to make amends with and it looked like he had already got off on a bad start, though Bryan shouldn't count. Still he had a few days to make up for it if he tried, but maybe he should try sorting himself out first. Ironic how worrying over his former teammates was the cause for him being in this state in the first place.

"Will you be coming back to Russia soon?"

Kai jumped slightly at the unexpected question but he answered calmly, "Most probably, why planning on visiting?"

"I miss your pent house."

"You mean you miss the play station and other consoles."

"And your fridge."

Try as he might Kai couldn't stop the smile that threatened, "I'm still not stocking up on beer for you."

"Damn." With that parting word, the Falcon Blader got up and left. Kai remained where he was feeling a bit more content. Sure he didn't understand what just happened then but it certainly eased his feelings. In the end he didn't move for over an hour, his body was unwilling to make the effort and everyone was too preoccupied inside to come out and bother him. Eventually he peeled himself off the wall. He might as well go inside and confront the chaos, the surprise arrival of four more teenagers, had caused.

Stepping into the Dojo, he spotted Michael and Eddy playing cards in the corner. The rest of the place was empty. He shot them a questioning look giving a gesture to indicate his concern of the lack of bodies.

"The girls have just gone out shopping," Eddy informed him shuffling the deck. "Tyson and a few others are deciding where your Russian friends are going to sleep and the others are either getting food supplies or training."

"We don't hang out in here all the time." Michael added picking a card up and scowling at it, "but if you didn't keep disappearing you'd know that."

"I hear you got into some trouble for doing that." Eddy joked making Michael laugh. "Mariah's a feisty one isn't she?"

"Quite." He let them carry on with their game; walking through the Dojo, he scanned the corridor. There was some noise towards the main bedrooms so he headed that way. However before he could get very far someone called out to him.

Doing a hundred and eighty degree turn, he was greeted with Matilda running towards him. She skidded to a stop on the polished floor. He stepped back so she didn't collide into him.

"You're not out shopping?" He inquired.

"I wanted to help Grandpa cook." She seemed a little taken aback by his question but handed him the phone she'd been carrying, "It's for you."

"Thanks…" Before he could ask whom it was she had already scampered off, shrugging he brought the cordless phone to his ear and wandered in the direction he'd been headed in before. "Hello?"

"_Ah Kai, how are you_?" replied the cheery voice on the other end.

"I'm okay and yourself Mr. Dickenson?"

"_Quite alright, quite alright." _

"I presume you didn't call just to inquire about my well being." Kai had come to end in the corridor, a clump of people were blocking the way. Therefore, he retreated and headed for the garden.

"_Partly since Mr Granger had called me due to some concern that you went missing this morning. I hear you went off the fetch your old teammates. How are they doing?"_

"Okay, I guess but…" He wondered if he should disclose the Boris issue but decided against it, "They may need some counselling in a few days." He tried to joke but it didn't come out right.

"_I see. Anyway, everything has been sorted. Mr. __Kasparkov has agreed to the terms and he's willing to buy Mr. Itou out considering there weren't many left."_ He sounded very pleased with how everything was going.

"But is Mr. Itou willing to sell?" Kai stopped on the porch that joined the two ends of the house together like an open corridor leaning against the wooden support beam he watched the sun slowly begin it's decent from the sky.

"_Actually he came into my office this morning and practically threw his shares in my face. I think we may have upset him. I've put him in touch with_ _Mr._ _Kasparkov so everything should be sorted in the next couple of days."_

"That's great news." He didn't sound as enthusiastic as he should but hoped the matter would end soon.

"_Speaking of news I heard your all going to a club for Hilary's birthday_."

"You could sound a little more against the idea Mr. Dickenson."

"_Nonsense my boy, it's just what you all need. Don't worry I've selected a number of venues that will be suitable you just need to decide amongst yourselves where you'd like to go."_ Poor naïve Mr. Dickenson, Kai thought, if only he knew the feuds and stress he was inadvertently causing them all by giving them choices. "_You Kai need to unwind, you've been too hard on yourself every since that Black Danzer fiasco, actually before that_."

"Are you saying I'm an uptight jerk?"

"_Ye-No I never said that! Kai do you want to talk about this, I know you have a lot on your mind_?"

_You have no idea…_

"About being an uptight Jerk? I don't think now is the right time, I just realized I have some more pressing concerns."

"_Such as_?" Mr. Dickenson did sound concerned. Someone else had come outside but Kai was turned away, if he looked over, they might come to see what he was up to so he ignored them.

"What did Mr. Itou say when he talked to you this morning?"

"_A lot of things let me think_…"

"Anything about another Beyblade organization?"

There was a pause before the Chairman answered, "_He said something about buying shares from the PBA and I think he said something about Russia but I'm not sure if that was after I mentioned Mr._ _Kasparkov." _

"Mr. Dickenson I need you to remember as much as you can about anything he said about Russia." He hoped his urgency would leak down the line.

"_I think he mentioned something about a new organization being set up but he wasn't specific, why_?"

Kai sighed, glanced round and found Tala watching him. He waved the Russian over before saying into the phone, "You know I said something about Boris still being influential in Beyblading, Myself, Tala and Bryan, possibly the other's think he's behind a new organization. I don't think Mr. Itou will have much luck investing in the PBA so he may end up investing in Boris and you can imagine the consequences."

"_This does sound serious_," _well duh_ was all Kai thought to that.

Suddenly the phone was plucked from his hand and Tala began talking, "Mr. Dickenson?"

A pause before Kai heard some noise from the other end. "Yes its true, Boris is setting up another Beyblade empire….You need to get the BBA on its feet as fast as possible…I'll make sure of that…I thought so to…Nah…really?...okay bye." He hung up and passed the phone back to Kai a smirk gracing his face.

"So Kai, you going to share a room with us or stay in the dojo?" The redhead laughed at his friend's perplexed look before dragging him back into the house.

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I'm not sure if I've corrected every mistake in this but I hope I've got as many as possible.

Oh no the plot thickens this wasn't supposed to happen but I couldn't resist…Though whether everyone is in character is a different story all together.

Please enjoy and review and I sincerely hope this wasn't a disappointment to anyone.


	5. Arrangments

**A/N:** Long time yet again, I feel I need to apologise in advance for this chapter mainly for the usual typos, grammtical errors and spelling errors my two proof readings failed to pick up. Hopefully there aren't too many so the writing will be dureable but if there are some that irriate you to no end please inform me and I will get to correcting is a.s.a.p.

Just a heads up that this chapter starts the use of more unpleasant language, apologise if some of the writing seems forced I'm out of practise so there may be some out of character moments, but I've tried my best. For those that have been waiting for this, again sorry for the long wait and thank you for sticking with me, hopefully it was worth it, fingers crossed.

**_Chapter 5: Arrangments _**

"It's not fair on everyone else"

"It's not fair on everyone else!"

"There isn't much _room_left in the Dojo."

"Then why do the girls have to sleep in the living room when there was a spare room?"

"The room wasn't big enough for them all, but it's perfect for the extra guests. Now come on Hiro and help me set the table."

It was perhaps the first time, in a long time, that Kai had heard Mr. Granger speak with out any strange and twisted beach boy mumbo jumbo in his sentences. It was also the first time he'd heard the old man bordering on serious anger, not the humorous, over dramatic, pantomime aggression that Tyson had inherited but real, stern annoyance. Not quite at the same level of his own Grandfathers temper, (he still hurt in places where the bruises and cuts had healed after confronting his raging relative after the first World Championships,) but it was still pretty scary especially when it was in hushed and menacing tones right outside the door.

Currently Kai was silently applauding Grandpa Granger for giving his elder son the good ear bashing he deserved. The redhead, who was sitting next to him on the bed, was looking at the door with surprise having never thought Tyson's elder relation was good at anything other than appearing every now and then do something bizarre or disturbing. Spencer was setting out his sleeping bag also wearing a confused look instead of his blank face that he fashioned most of the time. The Japanese Blader marveled at how Mr. Granger managed to trigger so much emotion in the stotic Russian team in less than an hour of entering his home. The old guy had so many hidden talents. Bryan, sitting on a storage box that had been shoved in here, was reading a magazine, the angry voices outside hadn't unsettle him in the slightest. As for Ian well he was making a makeshift hideout under the bed. On the topic of sleeping arrangements the Bed was just big enough to fit two people, Ata had claimed it and decided Kai would share it on account that he didn't have any weird sleeping rituals like Ian, actually went to sleep unlike Bryan and Spencer just wouldn't fit. Thankfully Spencer preferred sleeping on the floor as much as Ian liked sleeping in small spaces, leaving the small couch that had been squished in here would serve as an unnecessary bed for Bryan.

For people's information, Kai hadn't chosen to be in here, as was coming apparent with most things in his life currently. He wasn't given a choice, Ata had already brought his stuff into the room and had dragged him inside not even listening to his 'friends' protests, (and the Captain had the nerve to call _him _bossy.) Still it was probably better this way; his choices in the past had earned him humiliation and a bed in hospital.

You may have gathered that Mr. Granger had uncovered a spare room, once cleared of most of the old boxes which had been shoved in here it revealed the extra bedroom complete with empty bookshelf, cupboard, small sofa and large bed. Trust the Grangers to use one of their bigger rooms for storage. Still they'd dusted it and cleared it so it looked brand new, (if a little empty and devoid of homeliness that infected the rest of the house.) Even better was that it was up a floor, who knew the place had two floors! In fact, that's what the crowd of people was looking at before; they'd been shown the staircase that led up here. The walls were wooden but the floor was carpeted in a nice pale blue carpet which had once been soft but now was flat, compressed by years of fat boxes sitting on it.

Where did the boxes go? To the basement that had been suddenly discovered of course…. Not really, it had been divided up with Tyson having to take his bits to his room and Hiro doing he same, while Grandpa took the rest. The rubbish and stuff that had rotted so were no longer useful or recognizable going to the bin, but they still left an unpleasant smell in the room. Opening the small window did little to air the space out and while it felt slightly crowed with just the five of them in it, the bedroom was actually quite big and well lit.

Kai was going to start putting the sheets and covers on the bed. The dark green duvet cover had a faint smell of cologne that he dare say he recognized vaguely, he did have a great memory but having only met the Beyblading Champs father for a short time three years ago he was surprised by the fact that he remembered something so trivial. Not that it was stopping him making the bed. It did however dawn on him that this must have been Tyson's parent's room or at least his father's for when he stopped by, (something that had been becoming increasingly infrequent over the years, so now he simply stayed in the smaller guest rooms down stairs.)

Kai knew the story, after Tyson's mom had died, his father could not stop traveling and it had been two years after her funeral before he came back for a short time. Grandpa Granger who'd told him this said his son now had a huge void inside of him which he felt would swallow him if he ever stopped moving and traveling was the only way he could keep his mind from his despair. That sucked for Tyson big time. Then again, his parents had traveled a lot before so he might not have affected him as much, still dumping your child on your parent wasn't the most parental thing you could do but it hadn't done Tyson _too_ much damage.

Back to the present, it appeared Hiro had disliked the idea that the Blitzkrieg Boys got special treatment, but really he was just being awkward because Kai was involved. The Phoenix Blader didn't understand Hiro's obsession with making his life as difficult as possible but guessed it stemmed from his own cold attitude towards the oldest Granger brother. However, that was Hiro's fault for being on his case all last year, acting as if he knew Kai inside out when really he didn't have a clue. Grandpa Granger was now adamant that they have the room, because secretly he had a soft spot for the Russian team and Kai. _Actually_he was just annoyed with his Grandson for kicking up a stink and so dealt with it in a mature manner, instead of bringing out his kendo stick and giving Hiro what for like he would do Tyson. The mature manner was previously said argument, which they were overhearing.

"Grandpa don't you think the others will be annoyed by this." Hiro tried to reason his point. Kai gave him the credit of pointing out a valid fact, even when it had been the others that had suggested they use the spare room. When this was brought to Hiro's attention, he finally gave in and stormed off down the small staircase. A second later Grandpa Granger entered looking apologetic.

"Yo, my homies! How ya like ya new pad!"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

The old man stood before them, still in his martial arts gear minus the top, so they got an unwanted eyeful of his toned but wrinkly chest. Somehow, he managed to stay balanced on one foot in a ridiculous pose for ages while he waited for them to reply. To say the Blitzkrieg Boys were gob smacked would be an understatement.

Kai, being unfortunately used to this, recovered first. "It's….great….thanks." It _was_ _known _that Kai could be pleasant. It was more likely to happen when he was talking to an elder, particularly one that had gone out of their way to make sure his grandson's friends were comfortable and despite possible sanity issues was one of the nicest people Kai had come across as well as the most interesting.

That didn't mean he liked him getting close to him though, so having Grandpa's arm suddenly draped around his shoulders wasn't the least bit pleasing. However, the old man just gave him a friendly squeeze, something he'd been increasingly doing of late because he knew he could get away with it. It's not as if Kai would hit him but the Japanese teen was seriously wondering what happened to the invisible 'back-off' sign that followed him around. Leaning across the boys on the bed, the tall elder looked out the small window and grinned to himself. Ata cast Kai a curious look, hoping for some explanation as to why this man was manically happy. It took a moment for the Phoenix Blader to recall when he'd last seen Grandpa pull that face. It was recent and if he recalled correctly Grandpa Granger would act like this just before he did something extremely crazy to terrorize children or make them take Kendo classes, either way he was moving.

Good job he did because the next second Grandpa lunged at Ata, spinning the Russian round, pulling him off the bed, one arm across his shoulders to lead him to the door. Sniggering into his hand, Kai was pleased that he'd got out the way just in time. Ata looked as terrified as Ata could, especially now Grandpa was talking intently to him about martial art's stance and a load of other moves until he was yelling, caught in an excited fever. Bryan, who had watched the elder since he'd come in, was gaping with his mouth open. Spencer who had to move out the way when Grandpa had run across the room to harass the younger teenagers wore a similar expression. Kai wished he'd brought a camera; it was hilarious to watch when it wasn't happening to you. The redhead kept giving him frantic glances but he didn't want to intervene, this was best left to Tyson who had built in radar to detect when his Grandpa was scouting for students.

Sure enough thunderous thuds sounded on the stairway and Tyson barged into the room a second later. "Grandpa leave them alone, they don't want lessons!"

As usual, Tyson ended up dragging his deranged relative away from the traumatized Russian. Kai mentally felt for the redhead, at least when he'd been put through the same ordeal Grandpa had a shirt on, but he had been armed which had been a little unnerving seeing as he had no qualms with hitting his rowdy Grandson with his Kendo stick.

When he managed to shut his Grandpa out Tyson returned smiling goofily over the yelling of his relative, déjà vu anyone? "So how you do like the room?" That was the translation from 'Grandpa speak' to normal words as you may have guessed so Kai gave the same answer.

"You really like it?" The navy haired boy beamed looking proud that he'd done something to please them. Kai had to roll his eyes; he wasn't going to repeat himself again. "Great! Hey Kai I want to show you something me and the Chief cooked up, Daichi is going to be so jealous!"

_Cooked up? Tyson and Kenny in the kitchen that didn't sound right. _Next, second the hyperactive teen had grabbed his arm and was dragging him out the door. _Seriously, what happened to don't touch? _He was really missing his personal space right now but retained some dignity by pulling his wrist from Tyson's grasp but followed him anyway.

"Chief tricked my Blade. It can do this totally cool, new move and you just have to see it! It's so sweet." Tyson gushed as they walked though the shorter teenager urged for a faster pace. "Wanna practice after I show you, we haven't had a match in ages!"

"I haven't really been practicing lately." Kai replied rubbing his wrist, to his horror he felt more bone than usual, looking at the limb more carefully he recalled Ata mentioning he'd lost weight. He shouldn't have been surprised, that's what you get for skipping meals.

"That doesn't matter!" They were heading for the back of the house. Now the girls and White Tigers plus Mystel were back everyone was busy getting dinner ready, with so many hands on board you'd expect it would get done quickly but with too many people around it was a typical chaotic mess.

"Tyson?" Rei appeared from the bathroom, "Kai? Where are you off to?"

"I'm going to show Kai my new Blade," The Dragoon Blader answered looking over his shoulder but not stopping.

"This is news to me, can I watch to?" The Chinese boy followed behind Kai who was now walking even slower, he really couldn't be bothered with this.

"Sure." Tyson didn't sound too sure, more bemused for some reason and Kai knew that he'd wanted to show him this new Beyblade alone, possibly to drag him into a match since they hadn't had one in ages due to Kai's reluctance. The World Champion now had the solid belief that if he could impress his friend enough then Kai would blade against him, and he'd be right if he'd thought it a couple of months back, but he had always been the slow type.

Coming to the open back door, a dish had been set up; Kenny and Hilary were already sitting on the wooden porch preparing to collect data on Tyson's new moves. A second Later Max appeared, his bright orange pants seeming brighter and more unbearable in direct sun light.

"What are you guys up to?" He'd brought Daichi, _heavens no_! He could stand the Monkey boy in small doses but even that was becoming too much.

"Just testing Tyson's new Blade." Kenny answered, his digits hammering the poor keyboard. Kai wondered what happened to Dizzy, the Bitbeast that had once inhabited his laptop. He got a new one when he tried to have a go at Beyblading professionally himself and no one mentioned the fact that the woman's voice no longer gave witty comments whenever the Bitbeast felt the need. "Kai you've started engineering Beyblades as well, haven't you?"

He knew that one was coming up, oh how he found the younger boy so annoying and predictable. "Only my own." He answered curtly and with a tone that suggested he wanted no more said on the matter.

The brown haired boy shifted uncomfortably in his seat but dared to speak again, "I-I just wanted your opinion o-on the upgrades, since Emily is busy."

_I'm just a replacement for the super geek am I? Thanks Kenny. _

He shrugged, leaning against the post and surveyed Tyson's stance with faked disinterest. "Why would you need my opinion? Surely you computer collects all the data you need." He didn't sound jealous but enough contempt seeped into his voice to make Kenny more nervous and Kai wondered why no one had scolded him yet for his attitude. Then he remembered only Mariah and occasionally Julia would take the liberty of pointing out his faults as he took the liberty of ignoring them.

The Chief wisely chose not to reply, so Kai went back to viewing the show. He switched his mind to calculus mode, he never told anyone but since his short stint back in the Abbey three years ago or more, a virtual reality training exercise had backed fired, Boris had tried pushing his system too much. The malfunction had left him stunned for an hour and given him the unwanted ability to access people's and object's movements like a computer. Not that he saw invisible lines or weird stuff like that but he was automatically able to figure out the angle someone was standing relative to something else, their height, weight, strength of their movements. If he was looking at Beyblades well he could see what the naked eye couldn't, giving him an advantage over Rei who's best skill was speed and getting his Blade to spin so fast it was hard to make out. It had come in useful in the last Championships when he'd gone head to head with the Chinese Blader. He had the decency not to rely on his ability to calculate mathematically the opponents' moves, spin speed, direct, endurance, strength, defense and strategy like Kenny's computer in seconds. If truth were told, it had failed him at times leaving him _reluctant_ to rely on the skill.

He still felt it was strange how he just _knew_such facts, the numbers forming in his head without much thought, though the ability to see Rei's Beyblade was still a surprise when he watched the match afterwards and realized that he shouldn't have been able to. Still he had remained doubtful of the ability until his Laptop's readings agreed with what he already knew and he had secretly been training his mind to do it when he needed it. Funny how something from Boris' Cyborg project had backfired with all his research but that one advantage had been gained by accident, but really he could be more than happy without it.

Tyson's posture was weaker than what it should be, his arms too lack and his legs were stiff so his body wouldn't have the maximum rotation it needed for a powerful launch. However years of pulling a rip cord had strengthened Tyson's arm muscles so it was till a good launch just not as good as it could be. Kai instantly noticed the lower defense compared to the World Champs old Dragoon but it was faster and you can't hit what's not there. His attack power was the same but his endurance had lessened. That could be due to the launch but it was more likely connected to whatever Kenny did to up the speed, the mass of the Beyblade had increased but its centre of gravity was lower which helped stability but caused more heated friction, although the material reduced this slightly. The improved balance was most likely the cause behind the improved speed and Tyson was pleased with the results as he went over the basics to learn to control the new toy.

Seeing this Kai felt it was designed slightly out of character for the loud mouth teen. He was so volatile he could have a mood swing in the middle of a match like a flip of a switch. He needed something that could adapt easily with his temperament to reduce the risk of the Blade going into confusion when Tyson changed his focus. The Blade was too stable, too heavy and the reduced defense could leave him stranded since the World Champ wasn't known for quick victories.

The others had nothing but praise for the Chief's work and Daichi was insisting his Blade was next in line for upgrades. As far as he could tell, he was the only one frowning and it was not because the sun was in his eyes.

"So Kai, impressed?" Tyson turned to him since he was the only one yet to make comment and Kai didn't know whether to humor him with an answer, false or honest, or just ignore him.

In the end the slate haired youth pulled out his most recent modified version of Dranzer. The new model he'd been working on yesterday was till under construction and now Ata was here he would hold up its making till the redhead had looked at it. This action was enough to excite all those that had gathered for the consequences that would surely follow. Thankfully, the audience was no bigger than what it had been as the others were still busy with the evening's preparations. He had no worries of more turning up; this battle would be decidedly short.

"I like your answer." Tyson grinned cockily feeling he'd finally lured his former Captain into a match which he was sure to win. Had he not been so overly excited by his new Blade he may have been more wary as to why Kai was suddenly so willing to take him on, with no less that a dark smirk gracing his features.

The others, particularly Rei and Max took note of Kai unusually comfortable and confident stance. He was usually confident in his abilities, (even if he hadn't practiced for weeks under the claim of retirement, he always managed to stay on top of his game. He either trained in secret or had a natural skill in Beyblade like Brooklyn.) This confidence meant Kai knew something they didn't and the two observing teens were keen to discover what it was.

"I see you're confident," Tyson actually noted rubbing his index finger under his nose, as was his habit. Kai shrugged and casually flipped his scarf back over his should as the wind blew it in his way. Inwardly he was smiling; it had been a long time since he'd beaten the World Champion. Even though he had the unfair advantage over his opponent, he still had the comfort that they were both inexperienced in the Blades they were using and his was far from perfect but would be more than enough.

Taking his place opposite Tyson who was already prepared, he eyed the small Beystadium with distaste. It was a good thing they weren't facing off seriously, the flimsy plastic wouldn't have stood a chance. For now it would do.

"3…" Hilary started softly as she respected Kenny's wishes that this test would be low key for now until he'd sorted the Beyblade out. Rei and Max stayed quiet, while Diachi struggled to get Hilary's hands off his mouth.

"…2…" Tyson's finger twitched on the rip cord while his opponent remained with his hands calmly resting on his hips, almost tauntingly. He didn't like how at ease Kai was being, which only made him more anxious to start.

"…1…" _Would_ _they get on with it already?_

"Let it Rip!" Hilary's comically loud whisper sounded for them to begin. Tyson yanked hard on the plastic ripcord Kai was more elaborate, using the momentum of his full upper body to create an even and smooth launch that was so fast no one saw him pull his launcher or Blade out from his pants pocket.

The Spinning tops collided, as Kai had suspected the heavier Blade went down almost immediately, it's exceptionally balance aiding its landing. He'd anticipated as much and waited for his airborne Blade to fall on the edge of Dragoon's attack ring.

Which it did.

Instantly the lower Blade was sent into confusion, wobbling out of control giving Kai the opening he needed to attack it with furious combinations. Whatever it was made of was keeping it together and he had to credit Kenny's construction of the toy, it wasn't breaking. Regaining control Tyson sent his Beyblade on a straight course for Kai's Dranzer. The impact would be disastrous, trapping the Phoenix's smaller Blade to the side, a position no Blader wanted to be in. It never happened though. Kai's modifications allowed him to be more flexible in battle and his movement's weren't as predictable as they once were. He could dodge Dragoon's attacks easily. Now all he had to focus on was getting his opponent wound up enough for him to lose his focus and control.

That didn't take long,

Tyson was already rattled, he was not getting anywhere and everything Kai did seemed to be taunting him. He hadn't spoken a word yet, only attacked him the once but since was merely dodging and waiting. More concerning was his Blade was slowing and the lack of endurance wasn't doing him much good. The improved balance and speed was useless, Dranzer was more agile and faster while still keeping a high endurance, defense and attack. The only thing that seemed to be working for him was the superior material and weight, which aided Gravity in keeping his Blade stable and difficult to break. Kai's was delicate in comparison.

He couldn't lose, not to Kai, not to anyone.

As Dragoon slammed against the side again he decided he needed some help. "DRAGOON!" He yelled, summoning the guardian spirit of his Beyblade and ancestors, "Finish him off."

It was worth the effort just to see Kai's impassive face twitch in shock. Indeed the slate haired youth was surprised that Tyson could call forth his Bitbeast when he practically _just_had the new model. Well he wasn't the World Champion for nothing and Kai hadn't been his biggest rival for over three years for the fun of it either. That didn't change the fact Kai didn't have a Bitbeast. He'd felt a whisper the last time he and Tyson had battled, that had been months ago, not long after the fall of BEGA to be exact. He wasn't even sure when or if she would return to him, but there was a feeling that gave him hope that... perhaps...one day...she would come back.

_Ahhh! Not a good time to be thinking about that. _

Right now he no longer had the advantage. In fact, he was in trouble if he lost concentration. He had to remember the Blade had not been designed for Tyson or his Bitbeast's strengths in mind but to cover their weaknesses. They were limited to the metal toy's limits, so long as he kept that in mind the match could still be his. Nevertheless, he was going to have to train harder after this.

"Aren't you afraid?" Tyson teasingly asked, his optimism returning when Kai faltered. He had some serious questions he needed to go over with Kenny but right now he need to take control of his lost ground. Unfortunately, for him, his opponent had already recovered from the initial shock and was more than ready.

They shared blows, giving as much as they received. Dragoon was losing power and momentum fast, while the Dranzer Blade did her old trick of feeding off his energy. Thankfully Tyson's Blade's improved stability was keeping him in the game but that was soon to be his down fall because unbeknownst to him Kai was just waiting for the right moment to take the wider, lower structure to use against him and that moment was soon to come. It was only a matter of time before Tyson tried out a special attack, it was later than the slate haired teen thought he would but his patience won out.

"Galaxy Turbo Twister!"

_Finally. _He didn't even bother to hold back the smirk; this was going to be priceless. Allowing Dranzer to be hit sent the Blade into the air yet again and as before it was on a direct cause to land right on top of Dragoon. Closing his eyes he focused hard until he heard the satisfying sound of his Blade's rotation increasing, all the pent up energy inside of it coming out in an instant flash as the Spinning Tops clashed.

Shards of metal flew into the air, some flying over the sides of the Beydish as the rest slid into a crumpled mess at the bottom. Before the first shard had hit the floor Kai already had Dranzer in his hand and was walking away, leaving the others to stare in dismay at the failed Beyblade.

No one called him back.

…

Actually no one mentioned the match. Kenny was the only one that seemed distraught over the result but all the others, even Tyson, weren't too bothered. The World Champion admitted the Blade hadn't been too comfortable to work with and the others had observed the same thing, though that didn't stop Daichi making fun of him until Hilary made a few threatening remarks to shut him up. That had been the most distressing thing for the Chief, for the first time in years he had make a complete failure and everyone knew it.

He was so upset that even the others noticed his melancholy mood over dinner but to inquires he refused to answer honestly.

"**From that look I'm going to assume you know what is wrong with the nerd." **

Looking back round cold gray eyes met dark blue ones. It had been some time but finally Ata's eyes were getting back to their rightful large icy blue. Ata still hadn't told him how his irises had changed so dramatically after the first World Tournament but the redhead didn't want o talk about it and he had never pressed him.

"**Hn." **he whispered back, while continually picking at his food. His appetite had shrunk so much the mere sight of food made his stomach turn, that and Mariah had been the chief for this evening, putting him off entirely.

"**So what did you do to him this time?" **Atacooedsoftly, also picking at his food as he refused to take a bite until his former teammate did the same, just in case Kai knew something he didn't.

Kai shrugged, "**Nothing." **

"**What a strange boy to get so upset over nothing," **Atasighed, as if he actually cared, "**And here I was thinking it had something to do with that little battle you and Tyson had earlier." **He gave hisspaghettianother thoughtful twirl, raising it and lowering it pretending to be eating like everyone else.

"**Didn't anyone tell you not to play with your food?" **He chided the redhead, changing the topic yet again as Ata tried to get the information out of him. It wasn't like it was big secret but Kai had heart enough to keep Kenny's wishes of secrecy, at least if his failure was limited to the few that already knew about itthe smaller the shame would be.The last thing he needed was Ata finding out.Personally he didn't see what the big deal was but it mattered to the younger boy, who just so happened to have updated his Beyblade for at least two years straight and given him the chance to redeem himself against Brooklyn. He would keep his mouth shut**. **

"**Only you," **the redhead grinned, "**Are you going to practice what you preach?" **

"**I have no intention of doing so, nor do I have any intention of telling you about Kenny." **Ataraiseda curious red eyebrow**. "It's personal. You wouldn't understand and to be honest I don't either. Have you finished unpacking?" **

For some reason his question brought an evil grin to Ata's lips, "**Ian and I have but Spencer hasn't finished yet." **

Kai was thankful he was finally letting the Kenny thing drop but now he wondered why he hadn't mentioned Bryan. Now it was his turn to raise a questioning brow at the redhead but Ata only grinned more. _This can't be good. _

"**What have you done?"**

Just before the Blitzkrieg Boy could answer, they were interrupted by a sound from the other side of the table.

"What are you two whispering about?" Ricky yelled down at the suspicious pair, bowed over their food. His question brought everyone else's attention to them and they had no choice but to reply.

"I was merely asking if you're always this moody around here," Ata smiled politely his voice was sickeningly sweet, making the bulky American twitch. It was true they were all unusually tense this evening and conversation had been reserved once they'd given up pestering Kenny.

Ricky was about to make a snide come back but held his tongue as Grandpa Granger entered the room. He had been in a foul mood all day and no one dared excite his wrath so they grinded their jaws instead and let the Russian's observation slide.

_Everyone is so sensitive lately, it's so tiresome. _Kai thought as he picked at his plate some more. The excitement of having the Russian team amongst them had worn off. Bryan had been irritable from the long flight and exhausting walk, his manners always took a sharp turn for the worst when he was like this. Spencer had been his usual stoic self, meaning the others accused him of brooding while Kevin and Ian had quickly got into an argument at the sight of one another. Looking at it that way, he guessed the others had a right to be withdrawn. If only they could understand, it was just as hard on the Russians if not harder.

An elbow in his ribs got his attention, "**What?" **

"**What are you brooding over now?" **There was a playful tune to his voice since Ata already knew the answer and tempted the other to play along. He did.

"**Just tell me will I have to find a safe place to barricade myself this evening. I am not going to accident and emergency tonight**." To this, the redhead just snorted, pushed their plates in the direction of Daichi and Tyson who were complaining they needed more food and stood up dragging him along.

They excused themselves to Grandpa and headed towards the garden. Kai wondered why they were going outside when it was already dark but didn't say anything until they were well away from the dining room. Ata still had a playful smirk on his face the whole time as he quietly mulled over his own private joke.

"**What are you smiling at?" **

The redhead's slender shoulder shook as he withheld his laughter**. "You'll see." **He winked then turned and headed for the spot where Tyson had tested his new Dragoon.

_This cannot be good._

"_Tala?" _Theredhead kept walking giving him no choice but to follow him._ "_**Tala**_!"_

…

As it turned out the redhead appeared more interested in investigating what Tyson had wanted to show Kai than telling the former what he had up his sleeve for Bryan. He'd spent a good quarter of an hour examining the area and asking questions. He never got an answer, but Kai stayed with him until he decided to retire. It hadn't been long before they were joined by Bryan who had become bored with the others down stairs. It was around that time Kai decided he was going to wash.

Turning on the water to rinse the bath, for some strange reason he decided he'd have a warm bath tonight. Not hot, like Filip insisted on and would burn his skin but perhaps pleasantly warm water would sooth the ache in his muscles.

He had already brushed his teeth so could only watch as the tub filled up. Thinking over the contents of the day, he was pleased to evaluate things could have been worse, at least Bryan was viewing him too weak to bother with, insulting but better than broken limbs. Maybe the Falcon Blader had just softened though mentioning such a thing _would _earn an over night stay in hospital.

The strange thing was he was actually smiling at the thought, probably amused how he still expected Bryan to beat him up even when it hadn't happened in years. Now the bath was three quarters full he decided he'd turn off the taps and undress. It was around this time that he heard the first signs of trouble; the faint slamming of a door followed by feet trampling down stairs. That couldn't be good.

_Hmmm this sounded familiar. _

Shrugging he got into the bath and quickly scrubbed himself down before lying back into the water. It was hotter than he intended, the steam making his massive slate bangs go limp over his eyes. Unimpressed he sleeked the damp locks back behind his ears. While his body blissfully relaxed he listened for the raised voices he was sure to hear.

"**Wait until I get my hands on you!" **That sounded distinctly like a very ticked off Bryan, though he was bit out of breathe, he probably just run round the other side of the house first, chasing his prey round furniture and yelling abuse in his native tongue. Undoubtly his prey would be…

"**And you'll what**?" Ata's voiced equally breathless and closer than he imagined retorted.

Footsteps thundered passed the bathroom door followed by a heavier pair. Kai yawned, grinning to himself, _just like the old days. _He was surprised they had the nerve to act like this in someone else's house, oh wait nearly everyone had gone out to see Raul and Julia's circus friends who were touring. They probably wouldn't have gone if they had known the Blitzkrieg Boys were coming but he was glad he hadn't mentioned it.

A loud thud signaled something heavy hitting a wall and Spencer's voiced yelled out, "**Don't throw Bricks!"**

Immediately he sprung up in a sitting position wondering if he'd heard correct. _Bricks? Where did they get them from? I hope they haven't broken anything…_

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the small window behind him shaking and a dark shadow fell across him making him shiver. Spinning round he was confronted with none other than-

"_**Tal-"**_Any further exclamation was stopped when the redhead's pale hand clamped over his mouth. The sudden quiet allowed him to hear Bryan passing by the window grumbling as he stomped about the yard, once he'd gone Ata released him.

"…Do you mind I'm _naked_!"

The only acknowledgement he received was a blunt, "I can see that," as the Russian stepped over the bathtub and onto the wooden floor. Kai curled up even more his cheeks flushing. Taking in his embarrassment Ata smirked and made a point of looking at him thoughtfully, tapping his finger on his chin.

"Ahem," he glared at the intruder, "I'd like a bit of privacy…"

"I've seen it all before," Ata waved a hand dismissively, "besides I can't leave until Bryan's calmed down."

Kai wanted to tell him to get out anyway but decided to inquire how much damage he'd caused to create this upset so he would at least know how much danger the redhead faced when he left the room. "Are you going to tell me why Bryan's after your head now?"

"Do I have much of a choice," Despite his words the redhead was smiling, possibly suffering déjà vu.

"If you don't I'll call for Bryan."

Ata actually snorted at that his dark blue eyes twinkling, "So he can bash the door down to see you in all your scrawny glory? How very cruel of you Mr. Hiwatari."

Luckily Ata wasn't paying him much attention so he managed to get the bath mat square in his face just when the redhead turned back to see his reaction to the comment.

"Oh very mature Kai." He pulled the heavy mat from his face and threw it in a corner. "I'll tell you if only to save poor Bryan from any future nightmares."

He shot him a dark look as the redhead went to lean against the bathroom door. "It could be worse; you could have broken in while Gary was in the bath."

"No, I knew you were in here I would never have considered it otherwise." Kai glanced back at the small window used to let the steam out, scowling at it as if it was somehow to blame for letting the menace in.

"Don't I feel honored." Ata sniggered while Kai sank back into the water. The Russian was right, he'd seen everything before so no point getting all shy about it now. Not that he had anything to be shy about. "So what did you do?"

"Nothing much." The redhead smiled leaning against the door with his ear pressed to the wood.

"You swap his underwear for ladies laundry _again_?" he was serious about the again part which triggered another happy trip down memory lane for the redhead; he'd had so much fun in Egypt last year.

"Tempting as it was I couldn't afford the expense and he ripped the ones I gave him to shreds." Tala shook his head, his voice exasperated as if Bryan was being a stubborn, ungrateful child that didn't know what was best for it. He then returned to the bath side seemingly satisfied that the Falcon was searching some other part of the house.

"I hope you're not straight." Kai muttered sitting back up and leaning against the side.

"Why? Hoping to improve your chances?" Ata smirked playing with the water a bit.

"No. I'd just feel sorry for any children you have." His words, had they been designed to hurt the redhead did no such thing, but they did make the Wolf Blader laugh.

"Too true, but I hope never to get married so you don't have to worry about the next generation."

"Why's that?" he asked smirking and splashing some more water over his shoulder.

His companion sighed, "Women are so annoying, they nag, yell, whine, and nag some more …" He stretched and yawned but seemed satisfied that he'd made his point. "Not mentioning all that hormonal, emotional rubbish."

"You're too cruel. As much as I agree with most of your points, they do other things besides. Look at Yelena you two were inseparable." He pointed out, grabbing Ata's wrist as he was about to splash him.

A fond smile crept to the redhead's features as he remembered Kai's cook at his pent house in Russia. "Yeah but she's like over forty."

"Then wait until you're older and they mature a bit." Shoving the hand away he moved to lean his folded arms next to the redhead so they were facing each other more or less.

"Is that what you're doing since you don't seem too interested in the opposite gender?" Long pale finger reached out and pulled the wet bangs back behind his head as they had slipped out when he'd moved. Kai let him do it.

"I gave up hope when my Grandfather introduced me to my fiancé." He scowled at the mention of the demon that even Mariah didn't come close to beating on his rating of the World's worst females. Tala didn't share his depression, since he was not destined for her and immediately burst into the biggest fit of laughter he'd had had in years.

Once he regained himself and was able to get off the floor he breathed out, "I pity you so much," while wiping the tears from his eyes. Truth was he'd run into Kai's future wife not too long ago when the team had returned to Russia. He would have avoided going into town had he known she was there looking for him and hopefully a sight of her beloved. She got no such luck on the former but the latter gave as much aggravation and smart lip that she stormed off hardly five minutes after 'bumping' into him.

"I don't suppose as a wedding present you could kill me?" The slate haired teen asked in fake hope. As expected, the redhead shook his head and patted the Japanese youth on the head. Kai let him do that as well.

"I'd much rather poison the Bride."

Kai grinned behind his arms; he preferred that option as well. Instead of coming up with more exciting and humiliating ways they could get rid of his Bride to be he decided he'd get back to the original discussion and concern. "I heard Spencer yell something about throwing bricks; do you know what he was talking about?"

Ata's reaction was confirmation enough that he did. Giving Kai a weak smile as he explained, "Yeah, you see it was…well….promise me you won't attack me when I tell you."

_Okay what __**did**__ he do?_

The redhead backed away from the bath uneasy now Kai had started glaring at him with growing menace. "I thought you said it wasn't anything much."

"It's not…_really_." Ata began as Kai considered throwing the bar of soap at him. Seeming to see what the slate haired teen was looking at the redheaded menace quickly blurted out, "I just put some bricks in his luggage that's all."

It didn't sound too bad, Bryan was strong but considering Kai had lumbered that weight for about a mile uphill he was far from amused. In fact, he was just about the lob the soap at Ata when a loud hammering on the door made him falter.

"_What_?" He called out as Ata backed away from him and the door.

"**I know Tala's in there, Hiwatari**_," _Bryan growled banging on the door even more. The redhead jumped in alarm as a particular hard punch nearly sent the door off its hinges.

"**Don't bang on the door like that Bry, they'll be back soon and I can't be bothered fixing doors tonight." **As _tempting,_as it was to rat on Ata he'd put that off for the moment. Annoying Bryan like this could be fun especially as a nice, heavy, solid door was between them.

"**Don't call me **_**that**_** pip squeak**." The muscular Russian barked, the irritation clear in is voice, "**Just open the damn door Tala." **

"**If you haven't noticed **_**I'm **_**in here…"**

"**That doesn't mean he's not in there with you." **The falcon cut him off before he himself was cut off by a new voice that wasn't Spencer or Ian.

"What's going on?" Lee's voice, though faint, was distinctly noticeable and unwelcome. A chill that wasn't caused from the dropping temperature of the bath water ran up Kai's spine. _Oh boy, this night could not go more wrong. _

Hearing Bryan try and come up with believable exclamation as to why he was yelling at the bathroom door, quite possibly with a brick in his hand spurred him into action. Leaping out the bath he quickly dried himself off, and got dressed, instructing Ata as he did to stay put or try and get out the window when the coast was clear. Thankfully the redhead was embarrassed enough about the situation to actually listen to him and not crack a nude joke.

Taking a deep breath he opened the door just enough to allow himself passage with his wash bag and towel. Quickly, he took in the scene. Bryan was standing next to him facing off against Lee and a few others all dressed in their smart evening wear. He was the only one in his pajamas. He wasn't used to being the most underdressed and didn't like Garland eyeing him up as if he wanted to laugh but didn't dare.

_Cue long and awkward pause_.

Ignoring them he turned to Bryan, sure enough the Russian was holding one of the bricks from his luggage. Unfortunately, nothing came to him either so he said, "Thanks for bringing me that," then reached out and took the thing which weighed a ton to his already full arms but he pretended it was nothing and prayed he didn't drop it. If he did, someone was going to go six feet under. "Goodnight."

Without another word he turned and headed for the staircase, realizing it was probably the first time they'd seen his mop of a fringe flat, swiped behind his ears and the back part was also loose, hanging round his shoulders since he'd forgotten to tie it so it looked not unlike a girls hairstyle. He suddenly couldn't blame Garland for wanting to laugh. He hated his hair but like hell he was going to get a haircut, mainly because it drove his Grandfather crazy just seeing it but also he had better stuff to do and could trim his own hair. He kicked the door open, his hands were occupied and it felt good. He stomped over to the bed and dumped everything on it before turning round to face Bryan's rucksack's contents which were all over the floor, including a load of bricks which did make the mess more reminiscent of a bombsite.

Spencer was sitting on the floor making a half hearted attempt to put the stuff in order. Ian was nowhere in sight, Kai even checked in the cupboard and under the bed to confirm this. No midget. Good. He imagined Ata wouldn't come back up here until things cooled off and Bryan would be walking around town after shaking off everyone's questions, no matter how tired he was. Sighing he sank to his knees and helped Spencer tidy up the mess, doing a more efficient job of it as he organized, folded and put things away. Eventually Spencer gave up and just started passing him things since it was obvious the Japanese teen was going to do it his way. When all that was left were the bricks Kai felt like just calling it a day and collapsing on the bed, but knowing someone was bound to come in and trip or stub their toe on them and consequently lead to the obvious question of why they had a load of bricks on the floor made him return to the floor and start slowly collecting them. A part of him reasoned he could just tell who ever was unfortunate enough to injure themselves on the bricks that they were planning on building a launch pad for one of Ian's rockets or make an extension to Tyson's house, sadly he didn't listen to it.

"What are we going to do with all these?" He asked when a large pile was mounted in front of him and Spencer handed him the last one which he duly put on the top of his brick pyramid. His mind did need _some_ stimulus.

"Wait until Ian goes to bed then barricade him in." Spencer said in a voice that sounded completely serious.

"_Tempting_," Kai was too worn out to be shocked but he did manage to smile as he pretended to consider it. "But what would we do with the body?"

The corners of Spencer's lips twitched, "Well maybe we could leave a gap and pass him food."

"Oh but think of the noise," Kai countered in a deadpan manner.

"Well we'll just have to move them to the corner then, cover them up and hope no one notices."

"Think we could just push the pile along the floor."

"No."

"Joy."

Luckily it was just a case of Kai handing Spencer a brick as the Russian just so happened to be strategically placed within arm's reach of a corner so that wasn't too much of a problem. Still Kai was grateful just to crawl into bed and sink into the deep mattress, though he didn't fall asleep straight away. The heat of the day had followed through into the night. It increased the chance of showers tomorrow but also made having a thick duvet over your feet uncomfortable. Spencer appeared to be having similar trouble, not quite adapting to the sudden climate change yet.

"What do you think we're doing tomorrow?" The larger teenager asked after a quarter of an hour of trying to get to sleep.

Kai forced himself to roll over but only managed to collapse on his back he was so worn out. Turing his head to look at Spencer but couldn't see him anyway, he replied, "We'll we've been banned from training so they'll probably be going round looking at possible venues for Hilary's birthday party."

"It's Hilary's birthday?"

"Yeah, in a few weeks or something," Kai took a lungful of air and released it loudly, "Didn't Ata, I mean Tala, tell you?"

"He may have mentioned it." The blonde responded, if he heard Kai's slip up he didn't mention it. "Who is Hilary?"

"The brunette who hit Tyson at dinner."

"…Oh," Spencer responded at length, "So what venues are they looking at?"

"Night clubs, Mr. Dickenson's pulling a few strings since she's only going to be sixteen but she liked the idea. Hopefully she'll get put off after looking at the places."

"Uptown girl wanting to be rebellious," Spencer mused then asked, "So what are _we_ doing tomorrow?"

"I'm feeding my cat then staying here and working on some stuff, you can do whatever you like."

"You have a cat?"

"It's a stray." Kai replied tiredly, "So any thoughts on what you want to do?"

"Probably take Bryan into town or find somewhere to train."

"There are plenty of unused warehouses around, particularly by the dock. Think you can take Ian with you?"

"That was a given." Spencer said, judging from the rustling he had just opened up his sleeping bag. It was getting increasingly humid but it wasn't possible to open up the window any more.

As strange as it was having a conversation with Spencer, who had numerous times given him the evil eye, it didn't feel _that_unnatural. There was no one else in the room and it would have felt even more awkward to be lying around, silently sweating away and waiting for sleep to claim them. So they talked about what the Blitzkrieg Boys had been up to in Russia, what they planned to do and how Ian was doing in school or how Spencer was learning how to cook. They commented on the weather, the way Beyblading was going, where would be a good place to get new parts. It was always brief, one would ask a question, the other would answer not going into any topic that would require much energetic thought process. Interestingly Spencer didn't mention Boris' rise in the Russian Beyblade scene once again which would mean it was being kept low key and Ata may have had to do some digging or Spencer just didn't want to get involved or didn't want Kai involved.

Eventually Ian came up stairs but went into the wash room next to the bedroom that Spencer had used earlier, giving them plenty of time to finish what they had been saying then roll over and pretend they had not been speaking. That was how Ian found them, Kai rolled on his side, squished up against the wall to get as close to the window as possible and Spencer lying on his sleeping bag as stiff as a board. He knew Spencer wasn't asleep because he wasn't snoring so he asked him where Tala and Bryan where. Spencer replied he had no clue then rolled over, meaning he didn't want to be bothered by his young friend. The midget just shrugged, too used to this sort of treatment to care. He only ever answered to Tala who was his substitute mother; the others rarely gave a damn about him. He flung his clothes to one side then proceeded to crawl under the bed where he'd made his own lair.

Unbeknownst to him, Kai was suddenly uncomfortable with the idea of having Ian sleeping under him. The kid built rocket launchers for a hobby _for goodness sake_! Besides the Dwarf hated him so much he wouldn't put it past the vindictive little boy to kick his side of the mattress until Ata came up. Hopefully he was too tired to bother doing this. He heard Ian moving about under the bed and he continued to do so even when Spencer's snores filled the room at last. Still somewhat paranoid as to what weapon of mass destruction was being engineered under him, Kai decided to ask.

"Ian?"

"What do _you _want_?"_

Ignoring the rude tone Ian adopted when he spoke to him, (not like it was anything new) he continued, "What are you doing?"

"None of _your_ damn business." Ian sniped back; it was a little funny since it came from the direction of the bedpost. Knowing he wasn't going to get to sleep any time soon Kai hauled himself up to look over the top of the bed, noting Ian had squirreled a lamp under there so the wall and slither of carpet he could see was illuminated in yellow light.

"Aren't you hot?"

"Like you'd_ care_."

"You're right I don't," Kai said, "But when you start stinking the room out I may feel obliged to throw you out the window."

"I'd like to see you try." Though Ian was as mocking as ever there was a pleasing tinge of nervousness to his words, something Kai was suddenly in the mood to exploit.

"Okay," He made a move as if to get out of bed which immediately got the desired respond of Ian squealing for him to not come near him as well as a basket full of nasty names. "I thought you wanted me to try and throw you out the window." He said innocently as soon as Ian calmed down a little.

Ian's response was unintelligible, except the part where he stated with conviction how much he hated him. Kai didn't mind, Ian seemed to have settled down and had turned off the light, so aside from grumblings and curses he was pretty quiet. It was reassuring to know he still intimidated someone. Sinking back into bed he kicked off the duvet completely. Not long after Bryan appeared dressed for bed, well technically the couch. Instead of heading straight to it he walked over to the bed, checked underneath it before seating himself on the edge and jabbing Kai hard in the back making him jerk.

"_What_?"

"Why are you the only one awake Hiwatari?" Bryan asked, from his tone he obviously found it funny that'd he'd just made the Japanese teen jump and made it clear he could tell when he was pretending to sleep.

"Maybe because I can't sleep," He replied irritably, Bryans greetings had a lot to be desired, "I don't know where Tala is nor do I feel in the mood for your useless insults so if you'll excuse me, goodnight." He made to turn back over but Bryan grabbed his night shirt and hauled him into a sitting position.

"Actually I want to talk to you and I know Tala's not going to be here for another hour at least." Bryan stated folding his arms and getting comfortable while Kai smoothed his ruffled night shirt.

"How do you know he will be gone that long?" He couldn't help but ask, especially since Bryan had wanted the redhead's blood last time he heard from either of the two.

"Because I saw him with your Laptop and a huge pile of papers which I'll assume was also yours." Bryan got a kick out of seeing Kai's expression go from surprised to annoyed but Kai didn't humor him by asking about it since he had a good idea what the Wolf Blader was looking at and when he'd most likely taken it because the redhead knew he'd need something to do while Bryan cooled off after he discovered the bricks in his bag.

"What did you want to talk about?" He sounded sulky, shamefully so but he had just been poked in the spine, something he admittedly hadn't been expecting.

"I think you know."

"Boris?" Kai moaned. Bryan could be completely satanic sometimes. If he wasn't enjoying seeing or causing violence and uncontrollable bleeding than he was making sure someone's life was a living hell. At the Abbey it had been his trainers, after the first World Championships it was probably Ian and now it was him. "Can't it wait until tomorrow; I don't want any night mares."

"Aw, is the wittle Phoenix scared."

Kai smacked his arm, "Whatever, say what you have to say then."

Not even flinching and still with the infuriating smirk on his face Bryan just shook his head. Kai knew he was pushing his luck and though he didn't feel like getting his skeleton structure reorganized tonight he couldn't say he wasn't glad he's done it and hoped the Falcon Blader would sport a nice bruise tomorrow. Oh course knowing Bryan he had muscles of steel and wouldn't even have the courtesy of slight internal bleeding.

"I want to know what the Beyblade situation is like in Japan."

Kai couldn't help but raise a brow at that, never in his life would he have thought he'd hear Bryan sound business like, yet here he was on the bed that used to be Tyson's Dad's demanding that he tell him something that any old newspaper would.

"Can't you ask Mr. Dickenson that?"

"I don't feel like talking to him."

"You got something against the elderly now?"

"Only what you have against the human race."

"Right back at you," Kai quipped, fluffing the pillow to make a more comfortable seat, there was no way Bryan was going to stop pestering him but he had no intentions of being pleasant. "So what exactly do you want to know, it has pretty much gone backward the few months after BEGA collapsed but now it's fast forwarding."

"Who is in charge?"

"Well last time I checked it was Mr. Dickenson." Kai replied mockingly with venom making it as clear as possible he did not what to be talking about this right now.

"So he took over again," The Falcon Blader mused but didn't seem too impressed. Sometimes Kai would love to know what was going on in Bryan head but thought better of it. He didn't really _want _to know. For now he was docile but that could be down to jet lag and fatigue or Ata threatening him again. He doubted this would last and recent humiliation at the hands of a certain honor obsessed Blader who so happened to also be staying in Tyson's home would shorten his fuse. Kai didn't think it would be long before the old Bryan; blood thirsty, cold, and cunning would be back.

"Is there a problem?" He was still curt but he dropped the mocking voice since it appeared Bryan was forcing himself not to respond to that.

"Well if he was incompetent to let Boris take over last time, who says he won't do it again."

"I think he has learnt his lesson, I even made sure he got good investors this time." He gave Bryan a look that just screamed, 'are you happy now' but of course the Falcon was not.

"Can't keep your nose out can you?"

_Драчево.__1_

"Says you Mr. A million questions." Kai snapped back, giving the older teen a sneer to match the one that had appeared on Bryan's face. _Yes he was definitely pushing it tonight. _

"Like I'd stand talking to you that long."

"Touché, so does that mean you are going to buzz off and let me at least rest."

He didn't have that much hope.

"No."

Bryan was getting predictable, though Kai had a gut feeling he was actually just bothering him to keep him awake knowing how much Kai needed sleep and since Bryan hardly ever slept it was no skin off his nose if he kept him awake until Ata came up.

"I'm not in the mood for this."

"I don't really care."

"Sadist"

"Loser"

_Loser, that one was new. _Despite his irritation he actually grinned, "Tala still got you on the swearing ban?"

"Only as long as we're here." Bryan stated, his own rudeness ebbing but he decided to get back to the point. "Since you know so much about the business side of things tell me, was there anyone who you didn't trust showing interest."

"Bryan you've been looking through Tala's things." Kai accused, hitting the nail on the head. He was rewarded by the Russian Blader looking away, an effort to hide the sheepish look on his face. As an Old Russian proverb said, "there is no shame in not knowing, the shame is in not finding out." It wasn't far removed from the Japanese proverb, "To ask may be a moments shame, but not to ask and remain ignorant, is a lifetime shame." This had nothing to do with Shame, just Bryan not liking to be left out on affairs that concern those under his wing of protection, so keeping in mind Bryan's way of thinking he wasn't so much embarrassed of looking through someone's else stuff, as being caught.

"Well you and he have been up to something and when a strange man turns up with a load of documents and they're talking about another Beyblade association being set up I think I'm allowed to be curious." Bryan relied back sounding more annoyed with Kai than before, as if it was his fault he'd had to do it in the first place.

It annoyed him, how Bryan would find some way to blame him and anger started to bubble at the bottom of his gut. "Curiosity and invading someone's privacy are two different things."

Bryan waved him off not noticing the icy edge to the Phoenix Blader's words, either that or choosing to ignore them, "Not when that someone is my best friend Hiwatari and especially when most of that stuff involves _you_. If I asked him he'd just get even more secretive. Why didn't you tell me you were using him as a secretary?"

"I wasn't _using_ him, he offered, actually he just did it when he felt like it and if anyone's been getting into someone's affairs it's been you lot nosing into mine, so back off." Kai snarled he was lucky both Ian and Spencer were heavy sleepers but just looking at the other teen's pale, unmoved face he knew Bryan wasn't intimidated by his rising temper and probably didn't believe what he'd just said.

"Trying to re-grow your back bone?"

"Look Bryan so what if Tala's been helping me out, it just started because I staying up all night during the World Championships trying to keep up with my paperwork and it just carried on. We weren't keeping anything from you unless you're interested in the stock market."

"Well whose fault was that?" The Russian gave him an accusing look which just raised Kai's anger a couple of notches, he was getting very close to lunging at the bigger teen and strangling him.

"Oh yeah, it's my fault I have to run my grandfather's business empire that stretches across the globe and maintain good relations with all the honey pots he's stuck his fingers in. I can't even sell them; the most I can do is raise the wages of those people working in sweatshops to annoy my Grandfather."

"I forget it's so hard being you, poor little rich kid."

"Yeah it is, you try living three separate lives and see how it works for you. Actually make that four since I'm still expected to go to school!" Kai abruptly stopped himself then. He didn't want to be telling Bryan these things and from the look of disgust he was being given Bryan didn't want to hear them, all he was doing was showing signs of weakness and nothing could be more putrid to the Falcon. Taking a deep breath he took to examining a patch of ceiling beyond Bryan's head. "Anyway I'll assume you were asking about Mr. Itou? Well the Slimeball's gone from Japan and last I heard he's going to fund Boris or is thinking about it. Mr. Dickenson is considering making the BWA, Beyblade World Association and form a partnership with Mr. Kasparkov and Mrs. Tate so there would be a Beyblade organization they could unite under one banner, fund one another and organize tournament stuff."

"So an easy way to stop Boris would be to get rid of this Itou guy?"

"No funding, no organization, no world domination." Kai agreed. It was a logical conclusion.

"No meddling with our lives."

It wasn't the bitterness that made Kai look back at the Russian but the disbelief of what he'd just said. "Why the hell would he care about us?"

Bryan didn't answer him immediately; he stared hard at Kai, drilling the swirling purple orbs with his own grayish violet ones. It unnerved him slightly and one hand fell from his lap to fiddle with the corner of the pillow cushion but he kept his gaze on the Falcon Blader unsure what he was trying to make him understand. He took too long. Bryan abruptly let out an impatient snarl and prodded him hard in the chest. "You, Hiwatari he'd be interested in _you_."

For the second time that night Kai felt a cold shiver run through him despite the temperature of the room being equal to the tropics.

"Why?"

"Damn Kai! Do you have an aviary in that bird brain of yours?"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

Bryan ignored the new glower aimed in his direction. "I'm sure Tala has informed you of Boris' recent luck with money thanks to compensation but he blew most of that clearing his name in every country he was wanted. He doesn't have a lot and your Grandfather isn't about to get charitable."

There was something strange about Bryan's tone, though it was more serious there was a something else that had Kai on edge and he didn't like it. Nor did he like Bryan repeating things he already knew and his wishes to get this over with quickly returned.

"So?"

"You are still under 18…"

"The laws in Russia aren't exactly stringent; I'm legally able to have homo or heterosexual sex which is quite surprising since you can't drink alcohol until 18." Kai cut him off his manner derogative, in the vain hope Bryan would get fed up enough with him and leave him alone.

"Shut up and listen."Again no such luck, "Voltaire entrusted most of your legal documents to Boris and the guy is cunning enough to change a few facts, twist the system and get custody of you-"

He interrupted the Falcon again, "Why would he want to do that? He hates me." Bryan gave him a meaningful look, forcing Kai to stop and think. What he came up with made him even more on edge than before, "Oh…"

"I'd watch your back, he could get his hands on Black Dranzer and all of us are walking libraries for the research that took up most of his life. Not to mention we were World Champions for years and if you hadn't changed sides we probably would still be." Bryan continued as if the interruption had not happened, his words full of warning.

"I nearly lost my sanity."

"You never had any to begin with." Bryan said dismissively receiving another hit in the arm though it was not as forceful as the lat since the Phoenix Blader was distracted with his own thoughts. "I'm not going to spell it out for you."

"You think Boris will go out of his way to get us because he's realized buying Champion status didn't work but screwing up a bunch of kid's heads did. I hate to bring this back up but Brooklyn and Garland beat you lot as if you were amateurs and I was hardly much better." Kai reasoned out loud.

"No Kai, you beat Brooklyn and if you hadn't I doubt Tyson would have. You were hospitalized, in bad condition and still managed to defeat Boris' new Wonder boy after being crushed. Am I making a point here?" By now Bryan had one of his prodding fingers right in his face and spittle was all over it, clearly he'd rocked the Falcon more than he thought.

With some semblance of his usual cold indifference he reached for a tissue to wipe his face while pushing firmly against the finger, having some difficultly when he met some resistance. "I'm hardly that great, I practically got myself killed and I think Boris has made it clear that he thinks we're nothing but has-been riff-raff. He's probably collecting a new team as we speak."

Bryan wasn't falling for the act, his scowl only deepened as he became more frustrated much like he had earlier by the pond, "I didn't say he wanted to take us back but he would certainly want your money and defiantly all that research Voltaire probably has under lock and key somewhere, along with a specimen, you, to build back everything he had and more."

"You've been losing sleep over this haven't you?" Once again he tried blowing the other teens ideas out the window by throwing in his own jibe at the Falcon's unnatural sleep pattern. He suspected this was Bryan's way of trying to rock his nerve, maybe even make him toughen up to stop being an embarrassment to the Blitzkrieg Boys.

"I'm not joking around. If you and Tala have become this close again then he's going to be more determined to stop Boris at any cost just to save your sorry ass."

_Or not, _He knew if Ata was involved Bryan was serious.

Yet he was still slightly annoyed that he was being blamed for the redhead's own decisions and maybe he was a little miffed that after everything he'd been through for the Blitzkrieg Boys Bryan still couldn't give a damn about him. Sure during the Tournament he'd been a jerk, acting like they were nothing but dirt off his shoe but then it had been hard enough leaving the BBA, he'd got…used to Tyson and the others. Admittedly the addition of Daichi made the separation more reasonable but after three years with people you've spend highs and extreme lows with as well as learning to respect them you don't leave without some _small_ painful feelings of regret. He didn't want that with the Blitzkrieg Boys. He knew when the tournament was over they'd probably go their separate ways having got what they wanted from each other, so he didn't want to form anymore attachments.

That wasn't exactly what happened.

Though he tried to focus solely on Beyblading and beating his old teammates to get to the top again, Ata had made it increasingly difficult when he started to worry over him and his excessive training. Kai had tried to brush him off and Ata being the stubborn fool he'd always been carried on relentlessly, with arguments and confrontation as the easiest way to show that he was starting to care. Kai wasn't as heartless as he tried to be and the more tired he got the simpler it was to cave in and he regretted that because now he cared more than he ever had before. After the Blitzkrieg Boys all got themselves injured he'd felt bad and part of his motives for wanting to take on Boris new pride and joy was not solely to get to Tyson, it was to do what these numbskulls couldn't. Shame and guilt are surprisingly strong emotions; they plague you and make you do things you are too proud admit you even have considered before but more importantly he felt he'd let them down, let everyone down. That's why he picked up Dranzer again even though he wasn't fully healed and he knew it'd probably take more than what they both had to even consider a glimmer of defeating Brooklyn. Still he had and despite giving everything he had, including his dignity and reputation it still wasn't enough. That's why he blamed Tyson, Max, Rei, Kenny and even Hilary for making him care because now he was trying to make amends with people that hated him.

Bryan continued, mistaking the Phoenix's wide eyed expression for something else. "Don't get too flattered, there are other reasons and I'm not even sure about all that stuff but Tala has been making notes and though I think a lot of it is rubbish some of it made sense. Like I said earlier you know Boris best so I was hoping you'd be able to straighten this out."

It didn't matter what he felt, Kai knew he just had to keep things business like and push unwanted emotions aside. Bryan wasn't one to respect someone who was an emotional wreck and the first step to getting back into his good books was getting his respect, so he'd bite the insults, or try to, for now.

"I think he'll play it safe for the time being if he gets Mr. Itou's money then he won't be after my Grandfather's."

"So if we get rid of Mr. Itou, then we have to worry about you?"

Kai felt the knife go that little bit deeper into him but rose above it by responding as matter of fact as possible, "I can handle myself."

"You can't defend yourself against a girl."

"Mariah is a strong, hormonal, tough girl from the mountains," It killed him inside to admit this but he knew what was needed for the greater good or at least for his shattered ego as he recalled the embarrassing situation this afternoon, "Whereas Boris is no spring chicken. If it comes to that I won't be settling it in a fist fight, alas, it will be across a table and I have enough legal know how to protect myself there."

Bryan gave him one of those disbelieving looks a mother would give a lying child (or their husband), "You know neither me nor Tala believe you and we are not going to settle on luck or rest our bets on you because Hiwatari you haven't played the field like Boris and you're too clean for your own good. You _know_ dirty tricks but you're not good enough to catch new ones nor do you know_ everything_."

"That was really hard for you not to swear then wasn't it?" Kai, having yet taken another insult decided to stab him back, thanking Ata for creating a leash on the monster before him and said monster's loyalty to his Captain.

"Torture."

_Damn it not even a twitch, probably too much like his earlier jibe that had bounced off the Flacon Blader just as easily. _Shrugging it off, he went back to business.

"So what do you want us to do?"

"You said it before; we deal with this Mr. Itou, since we can't stop Boris building his organization he can stop people funding it and hope everything else was just speculation or the Creep will finally call it a day."

"Never going to happen, he-"

Whatever Kai was going to say was cut short when the step outside creaked. At lightning speed Bryan disappeared from his seat and leapt on to the couch, mere seconds before the door opened and a 'ready-for-bed' redhead entered. Without even a word to acknowledge that Bryan had quite clearly dashed across the room he made his way over to the bed, managing to not trip over Spencer and other debris still on the floor in the dark. Kai, still startled by Bryan abrupt departure and Ata's untimely appearance remained how he had been, half expecting the Wolf Blader to demand what they'd been talking about.

He waited as Ata took to rearranging the mangled sheets he had kicked about and was rewarded by a Russian pulling his shirt for the second time that night; only this was in the direction of the mattress. Perhaps this was the redhead's new way of telling him it was time for bed. Kai wanted nothing more than to roll over, his back facing the room and thus everyone in it. Unfortunately he wasn't given that option. Ata wasn't physically holding him in place but was staring at him; his Sapphire eyes telling him to keep his mouth shut and not move, so he ended up still squished against the wall but facing his former teammate who was merely inches away.

"Tomorrow, we have to talk."

Without another word Ata rolled over and settled on the other side of the bed.

* * *

1.Russian swear word- may have been destroyed by my word but but the words Bass and turd together and you'll have the meaning.


End file.
